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We hit our five year anniversary this past weekend and it's been a nice run here.
Now we'll be blogging at a new home. Be sure to bookmark and update any links if you've been so kind to link us in the past.
A feed is available here as well as a new Twitter link.
This site will still live on but all new content will be at the new place, where we'll have feature posts, blog items, headlines and links to other sites around the blogosphere.
Thanks to John E. for helping to get things up and running and thanks to everyone who's visited and linked since we started up back in November 2006.
25 Haziran 2012 Pazartesi
MF Global's Corzine Continues To Get A Pass From Liberal Media
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The tab for missing, improperly applied customer funds at MF Global has now risen to $1.2B, twice what was reported during the first week after the firm declared bankruptcy.
Yet, as Fox News' Charles Krauthammer observed, the liberal media continues to turn a blind eye to the potentially-criminal actions of former Goldman Sachs co-head, US Senator and New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine.
Even CFTC chairman Gary Gensler, who recused himself on the case, has stated publicly that it looks very likely that Corzine committed criminal acts.
Yet the liberal Democrat, former Senator and Governor, is largely ignored by the New York Times, CNN and MSNBC.
Had Corzine been a Republican, you can bet he'd have been roasted, pilloried and tried in the media constantly as a criminal 1%-er.
There's your media double standard. Only, because the liberals are silent on this one, it's harder to see it for what it is.
Yet, as Fox News' Charles Krauthammer observed, the liberal media continues to turn a blind eye to the potentially-criminal actions of former Goldman Sachs co-head, US Senator and New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine.
Even CFTC chairman Gary Gensler, who recused himself on the case, has stated publicly that it looks very likely that Corzine committed criminal acts.
Yet the liberal Democrat, former Senator and Governor, is largely ignored by the New York Times, CNN and MSNBC.
Had Corzine been a Republican, you can bet he'd have been roasted, pilloried and tried in the media constantly as a criminal 1%-er.
There's your media double standard. Only, because the liberals are silent on this one, it's harder to see it for what it is.
Fred Siegel on Public Sector Unions Displacing Old-Style Democrait Machines
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Here are some key passages from the Wall Street Journal's weekend edition interview. Matthew Kaminski sat down with Fred Siegel, producing the following insights.
Excerpts from the Interview
A former editor of the left-leaning Dissent magazine, Mr. Siegel has written several well-received books on New York, including the 1997 "The Future Once Happened Here." He calls his hometown "the model for cross subsidies" in America. "Wall Street makes money off the bonds that have to be floated to pay the public sector workers in New York."
Born in 1945 and raised in the Bronx, Mr. Siegel got his first political education by listening to feverish debates at home about Bundists and Bolsheviks. His grandfather, a militantly anti-Communist socialist, was vice president of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union and a strong influence on him. In 1972, Mr. Siegel worked on the McGovern campaign—"you shouldn't print that!"—and calls his discussions with the Democratic candidate "enormously consequential" in shifting his world view. "I like to say I was center left before I became center right," he says.
Thanks to union clout, he notes, salaries and benefits for teachers, bus drivers and city secretaries have outgained the private sector during this sluggish economy. "Spending is never ratcheted down. It's unconnected to productivity. That can only be sustained by a boom or these extraordinary subsidies we're getting now from the Federal Reserve. But that's gonna stop at some point. And then what happens?"
And the ground may already be moving. Many American localities are already at the crisis point. Rhode Island's legislature last week sharply cut retirement benefits for current and retired public workers. "A 300% Democratic state!" marvels Mr. Siegel, who was one of the first to sound the warning on the public pensions crisis.
In Mr. Siegel's estimation, only Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has tried the needed fix after last year's elections. "Part of the reason Walker has become such a lightning rod" is that he pushed "straight up, unambiguous structural reform." His move to restrict collective bargaining for state employees isn't as important, says Mr. Siegel, as ending the requirement that state workers pay union dues. On his first day in the governor's mansion in 2005, Indiana's Mitch Daniels also stopped deducting dues automatically; most workers chose not to pay. "The union has a guaranteed flow of income, which they then use to lobby the government," says Mr. Siegel. This reform, he adds, "evens the playing field."
Dues money is the coin of political influence for organized labor. So not surprisingly, it is bankrolling the pushback. Mr. Walker faces a recall campaign. Ohio voters this month overturned Gov. John Kasich's legislation to limit collective bargaining for state workers. Mr. Kasich should have eliminated the dues "check off" instead, according to Mr. Siegel, and worked harder to connect with voters. "Too many Republicans treat workers as if they are their employees," he says. "The virtue of Ronald Reagan is he talked to workers as one of them."
It is often forgotten how many New Deal Democrats were skeptical about public-sector unions. Franklin Delano Roosevelt called the idea of strikes by government workers "unthinkable and intolerable." New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia said, "I do not want any of the pinochle club atmosphere to take hold among city workers." But union organizers would eventually tap into the language of the civil rights movement to present collective bargaining as another overdue "right."
New York Mayor Robert Wagner extended collective-bargaining rights to government employees in 1958. He saw early that, says Mr. Siegel, "public sector unions are displacing political machines as the turnout mechanism for the Democratic Party. They are the new Tammany Hall." Coming off a nail biter of an election, President John F. Kennedy saw this future as well. In 1962, he signed Executive Order 10988 to give federal workers the right to unionize, though not to collectively bargain. By 1980, half of all delegates to the Democratic convention worked for the government. Government-employee rolls kept growing through the Reagan years. During the presidency of George W. Bush, the number of government workers who belong to a union surpassed the number of unionized private workers.
Mr. Siegel observes that public-sector unions have "become a vanguard movement within liberalism. And the reason for that is it's the public sector that comes closest to the statist ideals of McGovern and post-McGovern liberals. And that is, there's no connection between effort and reward. You're guaranteed your job. You're guaranteed your salary increase. There's a kind of bureaucratic equality."
In turn, he continues, "this vanguard becomes in the eyes of many liberals the model for the middle class. Public-sector unions are what all workers should be like. Their benefits are the kind of benefits everyone should get."
Government workers make up a growing share of the middle class. And perversely, says Mr. Siegel, unions can justifiably claim to defend the interests of the middle-class worker. "That's because the costs that they've imposed have driven out the private-sector middle class. They are the disease of which they proclaim themselves the cure."
I've highlighted in red what I consider to be among the most essential comments by Siegel, among others which are also valuable to understand.
Don't you find it chilling to hear, from a former leftist, the straight scoop on just who did what, when, and to whom in this sordid mess?
Excerpts from the Interview
A former editor of the left-leaning Dissent magazine, Mr. Siegel has written several well-received books on New York, including the 1997 "The Future Once Happened Here." He calls his hometown "the model for cross subsidies" in America. "Wall Street makes money off the bonds that have to be floated to pay the public sector workers in New York."
Born in 1945 and raised in the Bronx, Mr. Siegel got his first political education by listening to feverish debates at home about Bundists and Bolsheviks. His grandfather, a militantly anti-Communist socialist, was vice president of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union and a strong influence on him. In 1972, Mr. Siegel worked on the McGovern campaign—"you shouldn't print that!"—and calls his discussions with the Democratic candidate "enormously consequential" in shifting his world view. "I like to say I was center left before I became center right," he says.
Thanks to union clout, he notes, salaries and benefits for teachers, bus drivers and city secretaries have outgained the private sector during this sluggish economy. "Spending is never ratcheted down. It's unconnected to productivity. That can only be sustained by a boom or these extraordinary subsidies we're getting now from the Federal Reserve. But that's gonna stop at some point. And then what happens?"
And the ground may already be moving. Many American localities are already at the crisis point. Rhode Island's legislature last week sharply cut retirement benefits for current and retired public workers. "A 300% Democratic state!" marvels Mr. Siegel, who was one of the first to sound the warning on the public pensions crisis.
In Mr. Siegel's estimation, only Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has tried the needed fix after last year's elections. "Part of the reason Walker has become such a lightning rod" is that he pushed "straight up, unambiguous structural reform." His move to restrict collective bargaining for state employees isn't as important, says Mr. Siegel, as ending the requirement that state workers pay union dues. On his first day in the governor's mansion in 2005, Indiana's Mitch Daniels also stopped deducting dues automatically; most workers chose not to pay. "The union has a guaranteed flow of income, which they then use to lobby the government," says Mr. Siegel. This reform, he adds, "evens the playing field."
Dues money is the coin of political influence for organized labor. So not surprisingly, it is bankrolling the pushback. Mr. Walker faces a recall campaign. Ohio voters this month overturned Gov. John Kasich's legislation to limit collective bargaining for state workers. Mr. Kasich should have eliminated the dues "check off" instead, according to Mr. Siegel, and worked harder to connect with voters. "Too many Republicans treat workers as if they are their employees," he says. "The virtue of Ronald Reagan is he talked to workers as one of them."
It is often forgotten how many New Deal Democrats were skeptical about public-sector unions. Franklin Delano Roosevelt called the idea of strikes by government workers "unthinkable and intolerable." New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia said, "I do not want any of the pinochle club atmosphere to take hold among city workers." But union organizers would eventually tap into the language of the civil rights movement to present collective bargaining as another overdue "right."
New York Mayor Robert Wagner extended collective-bargaining rights to government employees in 1958. He saw early that, says Mr. Siegel, "public sector unions are displacing political machines as the turnout mechanism for the Democratic Party. They are the new Tammany Hall." Coming off a nail biter of an election, President John F. Kennedy saw this future as well. In 1962, he signed Executive Order 10988 to give federal workers the right to unionize, though not to collectively bargain. By 1980, half of all delegates to the Democratic convention worked for the government. Government-employee rolls kept growing through the Reagan years. During the presidency of George W. Bush, the number of government workers who belong to a union surpassed the number of unionized private workers.
Mr. Siegel observes that public-sector unions have "become a vanguard movement within liberalism. And the reason for that is it's the public sector that comes closest to the statist ideals of McGovern and post-McGovern liberals. And that is, there's no connection between effort and reward. You're guaranteed your job. You're guaranteed your salary increase. There's a kind of bureaucratic equality."
In turn, he continues, "this vanguard becomes in the eyes of many liberals the model for the middle class. Public-sector unions are what all workers should be like. Their benefits are the kind of benefits everyone should get."
Government workers make up a growing share of the middle class. And perversely, says Mr. Siegel, unions can justifiably claim to defend the interests of the middle-class worker. "That's because the costs that they've imposed have driven out the private-sector middle class. They are the disease of which they proclaim themselves the cure."
I've highlighted in red what I consider to be among the most essential comments by Siegel, among others which are also valuable to understand.
Don't you find it chilling to hear, from a former leftist, the straight scoop on just who did what, when, and to whom in this sordid mess?
Barney Frank Announces Retirement!
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It was a red letter day yesterday. Longtime liberal Democratic Representative Barney Frank, a major co-architect of the financial crisis of 2007-08, announced his retirement from Congress.
It's an event that should bring joy to conservatives and, for that matter, all taxpayers, since the latter are who have paid for Barney's corruption and demands that Fannie and Freddie guarantee more housing loans to those too poor to actually afford the mortgages they received.
Then there was the abominable Dodd-Frank law, which will continue to burden all Americans with passed-through costs of excessive, largely-pointless over-regulation of the financial sector.
To be sure, all America will be better off with this liberal idiot gone from Congress.
Why do you think he chose this term as his last? Do you think he actually feared a loss of his seat next year? Or perhaps, having enjoyed four years in the majority recently, couldn't stomach continued service as a minority party Representative?
Whichever, let's all rejoice for a tiny step forward for better government as Barney Frank leaves Congress next year.
It's an event that should bring joy to conservatives and, for that matter, all taxpayers, since the latter are who have paid for Barney's corruption and demands that Fannie and Freddie guarantee more housing loans to those too poor to actually afford the mortgages they received.
Then there was the abominable Dodd-Frank law, which will continue to burden all Americans with passed-through costs of excessive, largely-pointless over-regulation of the financial sector.
To be sure, all America will be better off with this liberal idiot gone from Congress.
Why do you think he chose this term as his last? Do you think he actually feared a loss of his seat next year? Or perhaps, having enjoyed four years in the majority recently, couldn't stomach continued service as a minority party Representative?
Whichever, let's all rejoice for a tiny step forward for better government as Barney Frank leaves Congress next year.
Where There's Smoke.....
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When I first heard reports of the latest woman to accuse Herman Cain of having a sexual relationship, it seemed to long and involved to be true. The woman alleged a 13-year liaison, including sexual encounters.
Then, only hours later, on a Fox News program, it was disclosed that, although the woman was said to have money problems, she did have text messages from Cain, and a copy of one of his books inscribed by him to her personally. Cain admitted knowing the woman for that time period, but categorically insisted there was no 'relationship.'
I thought perhaps he mentored her platonically, and she took a different view of his kindnesses.
Then I heard that she had some 61 text messages from Cain, coming, to cite Sean Hannity, either 'at all hours' or 'at early hours in the morning,' suggesting a clandestine, inappropriate involvement.
Stepping back, you have to wonder by now just what is it about Herman Cain that draws these allegations from multiple women?
In a field of 7-8 other candidates, nobody else has had these issues. We all know about Gingrich's infidelities, so that's different. And you'd think, if Newt had stepped out on his latest wife, we'd have heard about that muy pronto.
Guys like Mitt Romney or Jon Huntsman would seem likely candidates for similar allegations, but nothing has surfaced. Not a peep. Nothing for Rick Perry or Michele Bachmann, either.
So just going by the statistics, you have to wonder why only one candidate out of a group of 8 or so has received all the public allegations of prior marital infidelities?
It may seem unfair, but it does give one pause. And make you reconsider Cain as a candidate. His fumbling of the initial accusations, for which he had over a week to consider his response, was unimpressive.
But, now, this 13-year thing, with saved text messages, just seems so odd. It's like he attracts this sort of thing, or has exercised poor judgement in the past in his associations with women.
Whichever it is, whether fair or not, it's almost certainly derailed his candidacy.
Then, only hours later, on a Fox News program, it was disclosed that, although the woman was said to have money problems, she did have text messages from Cain, and a copy of one of his books inscribed by him to her personally. Cain admitted knowing the woman for that time period, but categorically insisted there was no 'relationship.'
I thought perhaps he mentored her platonically, and she took a different view of his kindnesses.
Then I heard that she had some 61 text messages from Cain, coming, to cite Sean Hannity, either 'at all hours' or 'at early hours in the morning,' suggesting a clandestine, inappropriate involvement.
Stepping back, you have to wonder by now just what is it about Herman Cain that draws these allegations from multiple women?
In a field of 7-8 other candidates, nobody else has had these issues. We all know about Gingrich's infidelities, so that's different. And you'd think, if Newt had stepped out on his latest wife, we'd have heard about that muy pronto.
Guys like Mitt Romney or Jon Huntsman would seem likely candidates for similar allegations, but nothing has surfaced. Not a peep. Nothing for Rick Perry or Michele Bachmann, either.
So just going by the statistics, you have to wonder why only one candidate out of a group of 8 or so has received all the public allegations of prior marital infidelities?
It may seem unfair, but it does give one pause. And make you reconsider Cain as a candidate. His fumbling of the initial accusations, for which he had over a week to consider his response, was unimpressive.
But, now, this 13-year thing, with saved text messages, just seems so odd. It's like he attracts this sort of thing, or has exercised poor judgement in the past in his associations with women.
Whichever it is, whether fair or not, it's almost certainly derailed his candidacy.
24 Haziran 2012 Pazar
Huge Fundraising Success for Ron Paul
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This weekend, Congressman Ron Paul celebrated his 76th Birthday, and his campaign held another 'Money Bomb' in association with that event. The results have been phenominal for the campaign, as since the Money Bomb began at midnight on Saturday, the Ron Paul Presidential Campaign has raised over 1.7 Million dollars! This is the power of the grass-roots, real Americans who support real change. His campaign has had a number of money bombs this year, but this one has been by far the most successful. No doubt the fact that his support is stronger than ever could have something to do with that (16 percent in Iowa, 14 percent in New Hampshire, and 14 percent nationally in 2 of the 3 most recent polls). Despite the fact that the national news media refuses to cover him properly, he doesn't need the lamestream media, because he has the People. Thanks to the awesome success of this money bomb, he will now be able to do a lot more to bring his message of Peace, Prosperity, and Constitutional Conservatism to the People of Iowa, New Hampshire, and throughout America. Congratulations to Ron Paul on this major success, and Happy Birthday!
Poll Watch: Rasmussen (R) New Hampshire 2012 Presidential Survey
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Rasmussen (R) New Hampshire 2012 Presidential Poll
Inside the numbers:
- Barack Obama 48%
- Mitt Romney 43%
- Some other candidate 2%
- Undecided 6%
- Very favorable 24%
- Somewhat favorable 21%
- Somewhat unfavorable 21%
- Very unfavorable 31%
- Strongly approve 28%
- Somewhat approve 23%
- Somewhat disapprove 8%
- Strongly disapprove 41%
- Excited about choices 56%
- Voting for lesser of two evils 38%
- Mitt Romney 46%
- Barack Obama 43%
Inside the numbers:
Romney earns 88% support from GOP voters in the state, while the president has the support of 89% of New Hampshire Democrats. Voters not affiliated with either of the major parties prefer Obama by 19 points.
Forty-two percent (42%) consider Romney’s track record in business as primarily a reason to vote for him, while an equal number (42%) see it as chiefly a reason to vote against him.
Fifty-two percent (52%) of voters in New Hampshire say they agree with the president, including 41% who agree with him on most important issues and 11% more who agree on just about everything. Forty-five percent (45%) agree with Romney, including 32% who share his views on most important issues and 13% on just about everything.
Ninety percent (90%) of all voters in the state think Romney and the president disagree with one another, with 57% who say they disagree on most important issues and 33% who say they disagree on just about everything.
Poll Watch: Pew Research 2012 Presidential Survey
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Pew Research 2012 Presidential Poll
Would use good judgment in a crisis
Improving economic conditions
- Barack Obama 50% {49%} (49%) [54%] {52%} (50%) [49%] {48%}
- Mitt Romney 46% {42%} (45%) [42%] {44%} (45%) [47%] {48%}
- Mitt Romney 53% {44%} (50%) [46%] {50%}
- Barack Obama 43% {46%} (44%) [49%] {45%}
- Barack Obama 55% {51%} (53%) [58%] {59%}
- Mitt Romney 40% {40%} (40%) [38%] {38%}
- Mitt Romney 49% {43%} (48%) [44%] {42%} (50%) [53%]
- Barack Obama 44% {43%} (42%) [47%] {51%} (40%) [41%]
- Barack Obama 50%
- Mitt Romney 47%
Would use good judgment in a crisis
- Barack Obama 50%
- Mitt Romney 37%
- Barack Obama 41%
- Mitt Romney 39%
- Barack Obama 54%
- Mitt Romney 35%
- Barack Obama 52%
- Mitt Romney 35%
- Barack Obama 46%
- Mitt Romney 40%
- Barack Obama 59%
- Mitt Romney 28%
- Barack Obama 46%
- Mitt Romney 32%
- Barack Obama 46%
- Mitt Romney 34%
Improving economic conditions
- Mitt Romney 49%
- Barack Obama 41%
- Barack Obama 45%
- Mitt Romney 44%
- Barack Obama 50% [55%] (49%) [50%] / 48% [43%] (48%) [48%] {+2%}
- Mitt Romney 41% [29%] (33%) [38%] / 47% [55%] (47%) [45%] {-6%}
Poll Watch: Rasmussen (R) New Hampshire 2012 Gubernatorial Survey
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Rasmussen (R) New Hampshire 2012 Gubernatorial Poll
Inside the numbers:
- Ovide Lamontagne (R) 41%
- Jackie Cilley (D) 39%
- Jackie Cilley (D) 39%
- Kevin Smith (R) 37%
- Ovide Lamontagne (R) 42%
- Maggie Hassan (D) 36%
- Kevin Smith (R) 39%
- Maggie Hassan (D) 36%
Inside the numbers:
Lamontagne is viewed very favorably by 18% of voters in the state and very unfavorably by 21%. For Smith, very favorables are nine percent (9%), very unfavorables, 15%.
Eleven percent (11%) share a very favorable opinion of Cilley, while 12% view her very unfavorably. Hassan is seen very favorably by 12% and very unfavorably by 15%.
But 24% don’t know enough about Lamontagne to voice any kind of opinion of him, and 33% say the same of the other three candidates.
Lamontagne draws slightly stronger support than Smith does among Republicans against both Democratic hopefuls. Cilley and Hassan do equally well among Democrats in both matchups, but Democrats have a lot more undecideds at this stage than Republicans do.
Voters not affiliated with either major party give the edge to the Democrats over both Republicans.
- John DiStaso's Granite Status: Democrat Hassan raises nearly $700,000 so far in gov campaign; Republican Smith gets Giuliani's endorsement
- Rudy Giuliani Endorses Kevin Smith for Governor
- GOP governor hopeful looks to NYC
Poll Watch: Latino Decisions/America's Voice 2012 Hispanic Swing State Presidential Survey
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Latino Decisions/America's Voice 2012 Hispanic Swing State Presidential Poll
Five States Combined
Five States Combined
Five States Combined
Five States Combined
Five States Combined
Five States Combined
Five States Combined
- Barack Obama 63%
- Mitt Romney 27%
- Undecided 10%
- Barack Obama 74%
- Mitt Romney 18%
- Undecided 8%
- Barack Obama 70%
- Mitt Romney 22%
- Undecided 8%
- Barack Obama 53% (50%)
- Mitt Romney 37% (40%)
- Undecided 10%
- Barack Obama 69%
- Mitt Romney 20%
- Undecided 11%
- Barack Obama 59%
- Mitt Romney 28%
- Undecided 13%
Five States Combined
- Strongly approve 39%
- Somewhat approve 28%
- Somewhat disapprove 10%
- Strongly disapprove 20%
- Strongly approve 39%
- Somewhat approve 33%
- Somewhat disapprove 10%
- Strongly disapprove 15%
- Strongly approve 38%
- Somewhat approve 35%
- Somewhat disapprove 9%
- Strongly disapprove 15%
- Strongly approve 38%
- Somewhat approve 24%
- Somewhat disapprove 10%
- Strongly disapprove 24%
- Strongly approve 44%
- Somewhat approve 24%
- Somewhat disapprove 10%
- Strongly disapprove 17%
- Strongly approve 35%
- Somewhat approve 27%
- Somewhat disapprove 10%
- Strongly disapprove 23%
Five States Combined
- Immigration 44%
- Economy 31%
- Jobs 23%
- Health Care 11%
- Education 10%
- Race relations 3%
- Foreign policy 2%
- Immigration 55%
- Economy 26%
- Jobs 23%
- Health Care 11%
- Education 10%
- Race relations 4%
- Foreign policy 2%
- Immigration 39%
- Jobs 31%
- Economy 19%
- Health Care 17%
- Education 12%
- Race relations 4%
- Foreign policy 3%
- Immigration 39% (43%)
- Economy 35% (28%)
- Jobs 21% (36%)
- Education 10% (14%)
- Health Care 8% (11%)
- Race relations 3%
- Foreign policy 2% (1%)
- Immigration 52%
- Economy 31%
- Jobs 26%
- Health Care 10%
- Education 5%
- Race relations 2%
- Foreign policy 1%
- Immigration 55%
- Economy 31%
- Jobs 23%
- Health Care 13%
- Education 9%
- Foreign policy 3%
- Race relations 2%
Five States Combined
- More enthusiastic 21%
- Less enthusiastic 38%
- No effect 34%
- More enthusiastic 22%
- Less enthusiastic 41%
- No effect 31%
- More enthusiastic 25%
- Less enthusiastic 37%
- No effect 30%
- More enthusiastic 23%
- Less enthusiastic 33%
- No effect 35%
- More enthusiastic 19%
- Less enthusiastic 38%
- No effect 35%
- More enthusiastic 19%
- Less enthusiastic 40%
- No effect 36%
- More enthusiastic 13%
- Less enthusiastic 45%
- No effect 34%
Five States Combined
- More enthusiastic 54%
- Less enthusiastic 11%
- No effect 33%
- More enthusiastic 58% [49%]
- Less enthusiastic 9% [14%]
- No effect [34%]
- More enthusiastic 62%
- Less enthusiastic 11%
- No effect 26%
- More enthusiastic 51%
- Less enthusiastic 11%
- No effect 35%
- More enthusiastic 50%
- Less enthusiastic 10%
- No effect 38%
- More enthusiastic 60%
- Less enthusiastic 9%
- No effect 29%
- More enthusiastic 56%
- Less enthusiastic 15%
- No effect 28%
Five States Combined
- More enthusiastic 8%
- Less enthusiastic 59%
- No effect 29%
- More enthusiastic 10%
- Less enthusiastic 59%
- No effect 27%
- More enthusiastic 7%
- Less enthusiastic 63%
- No effect 27%
- More enthusiastic 9%
- Less enthusiastic 55%
- No effect 32%
- More enthusiastic 8%
- Less enthusiastic 57%
- No effect 29%
- More enthusiastic 7%
- Less enthusiastic 63%
- No effect 28%
- More enthusiastic 10%
- Less enthusiastic 60%
- No effect 28%
23 Haziran 2012 Cumartesi
Occupy Fort Collins Arsonist a Ron Paulian
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We noted this arson earlier today. Turns out the guy is a registered Republican and a Ron Paul supporter. Well, I guess the media can start passing judgment on the occupiers now that a Republican caused some damage.
"I never heard him say anything violent," said Eric Eisen of Fort Collins, an Occupy activist. "He was all about converting money."H/T Eric.
In an online video featured on http://tri1025.com, Gilmore said he was frustrated by the income disparity between executives and workers, and told people they should turn in their paper money for gold and other metals.
Eisen said Occupy supporters include people from across the political spectrum unified by a nonviolent message. The movement began on Wall Street in New York City, peacefully protesting the power of the financial and political sectors.
Crisafi said it's not unusual for activists to have views that don't parallel each other.
"There's tons of drama," she said, adding activists present at the site since Oct. 10 have worked to keep it positive. "Anyone we got negative vibes off of was asked to leave."
She said Benjamin Gilmore, who was part of the movement "since Day One," is a Ron Paul supporter. There has been friction between Paul supporters and other Occupy activists, whose views are "a little bit more extreme," she said.
Eventually, the Paul supporters moved their demonstration to Mulberry Street and College Avenue. But Crisafi said Benjamin Gilmore stayed at Maple and College.
The Occupy Fort Collins activists say they have had an amicable relationship with law enforcement, and there have been no reports of violence.
She said Benjamin Gilmore played music from his car radio to help get people motivated.
"He totally helped bring people together," Crisafi said.
Activists said they kept Benjamin Gilmore's flag flying at the site because taking it down could send a message they think he's guilty.
"If he is guilty, I will be very upset and I will stop liking Ben," Eisen said. "It's too early to call."
'If This Had Completely Gone South, He Was in a Position to Disavow'
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Isn't it great being able to have it both ways?
More here.
Maybe it’s the fog of war.Just imagine how quickly he'd have thrown these guys under the bus. Instead he goes around using bin Laden's death as a campaign tool.
Chuck Pfarrer, a former SEAL Team Six assault-element commander, raises serious questions about the official story of Osama bin Laden’s takedown in his new book, “Seal Target Geronimo.”
“The further I got away from the Beltway, the more accurate information I got,” he said.
Pfarrer says it only took the SEALs 90 to 120 seconds -- from landing to the firing the final shot -- to take out bin Laden, far shorter than other accounts have claimed.
He says the forces entered the compound on the third floor via the roof, not from the ground as the official version has said.
And the SEALs never said, “For God and country,” when they shot bin Laden dead.
President Obama’s role, too, was largely inflated.
He was out playing golf only 20 minutes before the raid began.
“If this had completely gone south, he was in a position to disavow,” Pfarrer claimed.
More here.
'I’m Like a Celebrity Back Home'
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Like most of the Occupy Wall Street freaks, this guy is completely delusional.Henry Perkins is giving Occupy Wall Street the old college try.The 21-year-old University of Alabama junior has been earning college credits while living in the open-air, crime-riddled frat house of Zuccotti Park.“I asked my professors and they said to go for it,” Perkins told the Daily News. “They’re living vicariously
New York Democrat Yanks Nude Photos Off His Website: 'How Do You Trust Someone Who Posts Naked Pictures of Himself on the Internet?'
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What's the deal with these weirdo Democrats who feel they need to post lewd photos of themselves? OK, this guy says they're art photos, but really, who wants to look at this stuff? Didn't he at least pause to think after the Anthony Weiner fiasco?
Update: Also posted at the new and improved JWF.
Monroe County Legislator Stephen Eckel abruptly removed two nude photos of himself from a personal website on Friday after being questioned about them by a television reporter.The New York Post has one of the shots here.
Eckel, 46, a Democrat from Rochester in the midst of a re-election campaign, said in a phone interview that he took the photos of himself in 2000 as a student at the Visual Studies Workshop while working on a master of fine arts degree at The College at Brockport. He received the degree a year later.
The sepia-toned photos, taken with a wide lens at an elevated angle, were full frontal nude shots of Eckel, but were not sexual in nature. He described them as art.
They were part of a portfolio of Eckel's from that time that he said he showcased on the Internet to find photography work and jobs teaching photography. He has periodically taught photography at local colleges since then.
Eckel said he had never been questioned about the appropriateness of the photos until today, when he was contacted by a reporter from 13WHAM-TV, who had learned of the photos from the Monroe County Republican Committee.
"This is nothing more than a Republican stooping to a new low in order to distract the public from the real issues facing Monroe County taxpayers," Eckel said. "These were taken 10 years ago as part of a portfolio that helped me earn a master's of fine arts. Clearly, they have nothing to do with my service in my district."
Eckel said he removed the photos because they would "deflect attention from the true issues of the campaign." Asked if he would post them again after the campaign, he said that would be something he would have to consider.
Tony Micciche, who is challenging Eckel for the seat in the 26th District — which covers parts of Rochester, Gates and Greece — said such photos, even as artistic works, show poor judgment.
"How do you trust someone who posts naked pictures of himself on the Internet?" Micciche asked. "He's an elected official. He should be held to a higher standard."
Update: Also posted at the new and improved JWF.
We've Moved
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We hit our five year anniversary this past weekend and it's been a nice run here.Now we'll be blogging at a new home. Be sure to bookmark and update any links if you've been so kind to link us in the past.A feed is available here as well as a new Twitter link.This site will still live on but all new content will be at the new place, where we'll have feature posts, blog items, headlines and links
21 Haziran 2012 Perşembe
Huckabee Beats Out Republican Field In FairTax Poll
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Houston, TX – Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas) beat out his Republican challengers in a recent FairTax poll on tax reform. With 42% of the vote, Huckabee was seen as the candidate who presented the most effective and comprehensive plan for significant tax reform.
The online poll was conducted by FairTax.org after the South Carolina 2008 GOP Presidential Debate on May 15, 2007. Huckabee won the poll with approximately 2,100 of 5,000 participants in the survey.
“It’s high time we have a different kind of tax structure and the simplest way to eliminate the alternative minimum tax, without raising the budget deficit, is by enacting the ‘FairTax,’” Huckabee said. “The FairTax is the best proposal we have out there because it’s flatter, fairer, finite and family friendly.” Huckabee made his remarks after meeting with officials in support of the FairTax Plan, a nonpartisan, national grassroots campaign to replace the federal income tax system with a progressive national retail sales tax.
“If we had a FairTax, it would not only eliminate the alternative minimum tax, personal income tax, and corporate tax, it would eliminate all the various taxes that are hidden in the system that Americans aren’t aware they are paying,” Huckabee said. “Importantly, the FairTax would be revenue neutral.”
The FairTax plan also abolishes the IRS; closes all loopholes and brings fairness to taxation; ensures Social Security and Medicare funding; brings transparency and accountability to tax policy; allows American products to compete fairly; reimburses the tax on purchases of basic necessities; enables retirees to keep their entire pension; and enables workers to keep their entire paycheck.
As governor of Arkansas, Huckabee cut taxes and fees almost 100 times, saving the taxpayers almost $380 million and creating a budget surplus of nearly $850 million. As president, Huckabee said one of his top priorities would be to simplify the U.S. tax code.
Blogger Interview with Mike Huckabee
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The Republican Race '08 was invited to take part in a Blogger conference call Friday morning with Mike Huckabee (R-Arkansas) and one of his strong supporters former Governor David Beasley (R-South Carolina).
Governor Huckabee started off the phone conference thanking his wife for being such a saint. Friday was the Huckabee's 33rd Wedding Anniversary.
He also mentioned that he was head for Des Moines, Iowa this weekend to be the commencement speaker at Des Moines University.
He wanted to take a moment to remember all the countries service men and women, and reflected on what a great nation we live in. He finished off his opening comments by wishing everyone a happy Memorial Day and weekend.
I started off questioning asking Gov. Huckabee how important his growing support coming from the FairTax grassroots organization (a campaign with over 30,000 members) has been to his campaign.
He said that FairTax cannot endorse him, however he strongly endorses it.
It's clear to see that he has plans to revolutionize the U.S. Tax system, and supporters of the FairTax are quickly becoming supporters of Huckabee as well. In a FairTax.org poll over 42% said that Huckabee had the best plan for tax reform and that was almost twice the percentage of the second place candidate, Ron Paul, who had just of 22%. In the same poll 96% of voters think that an overhaul of the current tax system is "Very Important". (Results of the poll can be viewed by Clicking Here)
The other big question of the day was some what of a surprise. Kevin Tracy of KTracy.com asked Gov. Huckabee what his opinions were on legislation that would destroy "Net Neutrality" and give ISP's such as AT&T, Comcast, and Verison the power to pick and choose how website are viewed and at what speeds. (I still am not well rounded on this subject, however I encourage you to visit www.SaveTheInternet.com for further information.)
Gov. Huckabee was unfamiliar with the issue, as most of us are, but after a brief explanation by Kevin he quickly took a stand that Net Neutrality must be preserved.
Stay tuned, as soon as the audio recording from the conference call is released we will post it here on Republican Race '08.
Until then, have a happy Memorial Day weekend!
Governor Huckabee started off the phone conference thanking his wife for being such a saint. Friday was the Huckabee's 33rd Wedding Anniversary.
He also mentioned that he was head for Des Moines, Iowa this weekend to be the commencement speaker at Des Moines University.
He wanted to take a moment to remember all the countries service men and women, and reflected on what a great nation we live in. He finished off his opening comments by wishing everyone a happy Memorial Day and weekend.
I started off questioning asking Gov. Huckabee how important his growing support coming from the FairTax grassroots organization (a campaign with over 30,000 members) has been to his campaign.
He said that FairTax cannot endorse him, however he strongly endorses it.
It's clear to see that he has plans to revolutionize the U.S. Tax system, and supporters of the FairTax are quickly becoming supporters of Huckabee as well. In a FairTax.org poll over 42% said that Huckabee had the best plan for tax reform and that was almost twice the percentage of the second place candidate, Ron Paul, who had just of 22%. In the same poll 96% of voters think that an overhaul of the current tax system is "Very Important". (Results of the poll can be viewed by Clicking Here)
The other big question of the day was some what of a surprise. Kevin Tracy of KTracy.com asked Gov. Huckabee what his opinions were on legislation that would destroy "Net Neutrality" and give ISP's such as AT&T, Comcast, and Verison the power to pick and choose how website are viewed and at what speeds. (I still am not well rounded on this subject, however I encourage you to visit www.SaveTheInternet.com for further information.)
Gov. Huckabee was unfamiliar with the issue, as most of us are, but after a brief explanation by Kevin he quickly took a stand that Net Neutrality must be preserved.
Stay tuned, as soon as the audio recording from the conference call is released we will post it here on Republican Race '08.
Until then, have a happy Memorial Day weekend!
New Blog Layout Under Construction
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We are upgrading to a new layout for the site. As you have probably noticed many links and banners from the old site are not up, but we will have everything established back to a every-day normal by June 2nd at the latest and the next article will be posted by then as well.
Thanks for your support and please fill free to share your thoughts about the new design.
Thanks,
RR'08
Thanks for your support and please fill free to share your thoughts about the new design.
Thanks,
RR'08
We're Back and ready to Rank... New Republican Rankings for August 7, 2007... Where do they stand?
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Well it's been a while and definitely a long time since the last promised update in rankings. Most of you already know the major changes that have taken place since the last ranking came out. Just for a brief overview of the two biggest happenings...
- John McCain had a major meltdown in his campaign when three top campaign leaders, including the Campaign Manager and the Lead Strategist resigned from the campaign.
- Jim Gilmore dropped out of the race and no one has really missed him.
Now for the good stuff...
Republican Presidential Candidate Rankings as of August 7, 2008 (Pre-Ames Straw Poll)
1. Mitt Romney
Well Mitt's use of the almighty dollar puts him at the front of the pack in Iowa and for that case in the race itself. Romney has made sure he is not unknown going into the straw poll. But is Mitt really how Iowa wants? Polls have shown that Romney's message has just not spoke loudly in Iowa. Not nearly as much as his name and face. Lets face the facts, Mitt Romney cleans up well and is an extremely good public speaker and puts out a great image on television looking like a family man who is just another average American, the only part of that, that will come back to bit him is in the Straw Poll and Caucus the voters get to see the candidates in real life and in real life Mitt does not come off anywhere as good as he does on television. Money and popularity have gotten Romney to the top spot, but it is not likely that he will take Iowa just to the fact that Iowans have through out history filtered the phonies out of the race. And that's all Romney is. A pretty talking head phony.
2. Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee has been on an unbelievable tear as of late. It looked as if he was about to take a big hit after the second quarter fundraising figures came out. Huckabee had finished in the bottom 3 of Republicans and it looked like his campaign was about to go into panic mode. However Mike had different plans. Just as the name of his latest book, his campaign has risen From Hope to Higher Ground. After the ABC News debate from Iowa it seems as if Huckabee has an excellent chance at not only placing highly at the straw poll, but even winning the poll in Ames. During the Iowa/ABC News Debate Dr. Frank Luntz (one of the nations top political pollsters) used the new real-time dial technology that let's voters give an immediate feedback to what they think about what the candidate is saying. Dr. Luntz said that Huckabee's numbers went through the roof when attacked the Suadi royal family and their involvement and funding of terrorism with money coming from US oil revenue and that America needs to be independent on energy within 10 years. Read this small portion of a Politico.com article...
"At the session’s start, only one participant picked Huckabee as the candidate he or she wanted to win. Nine chose former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, eight were for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, five were for the absent Fred Thompson, two were for McCain, and the remaining candidates were picked by one or none.
But when it was over, Huckabee had 14 votes, compared with 10 for Romney, three for Giuliani, one for Fred Thompson and one for Rep. Duncan Hunter of California."
Check out the entire article by clicking here.
This is all great news for the Huckabee camp and he is an a great position to be catapulted to the front of the pack after the Iowa Straw Poll this Saturday.
3-t. Rudy Giuliani
The man who started out the campaign as the favorite to sweep through the primaries with out much resistance has had a much rougher time than expected and has fallen from his top spot. He refuses to get down and play primary politics. Giuliani seems to think that meeting voters one on one in Iowa and even on a big scale by way of the Ames Straw Poll and the September YouTube debate is too much work for him and not enough gain. Not only has Giuliani lost hundreds of thousands of potential votes by trying to play primary politics on a national level, he has alienated much of his support in Iowa which is THE most important state in the primaries for Republicans. Does anyone else remember what happened to the last big name candidate who tried to take his campaign to a national level months in advance and then got blown out in the primaries?
It was only four years ago when just that happened to the democrats original favorite, Howard Dean. Dean had money, a popular name, a message that many democrats were in too and so he thought he could skip the entire primary process that has elected our Presidents all through out history and get a seventh month head start on the general election.
I believe Rudy Giuliani will be wishing he would have learned the phrase "If you don't learn history, you are doomed to repeat it." Because it seems like Mayor Giuliani is totally clueless as to what is about to happen to his campaign in the primary states. And that is fail.
3-t. Fred Thompson
Time is running out for Fred Thompson. All depending on how the Ames Iowa Straw Poll turns out he could find himself losing a lot of his popularity. His name being on the ballot may actually hurt him. If he does not finish in the top two and loses to some one who is not Rudy Giulian or John McCain (which is very likely) he will begin to slip as "the candidate everyone wants". If Mike Huckabee wins the Straw Poll it will likely end the chances of Fred Thompson entering the campaign as the favorite. Right now he thrives on being the "true conservative" which is nothing but a myth. A Huckabee win at the Straw Poll would undoubtedly put Mike in the "top tier" and all it would take to find out that Huckabee is much more conservative than Fred is a few minutes on the internet. Not to mention Huckabee beats him out on experience and record. If Fred Thompson wants to be the Republican nominee, he better hope Huckabee has a bad showing at the Ames Straw Poll or he better jump in the race and try to spin his weak record to people. If he does not, his campaign will be nothing but a "what if" by the end of the month.
5. John McCain
As you saw above, McCain's campaign has taken hit, after hit, after hit and it is really starting to show. He has been declared the loser of ever debate, except for the first according to Dr. Frank Luntz, the Fox News pollster mentioned earlier in the rankings. It seems like Immigration (which if you might remember Republican Race '08 predicted it spoiling his chance at winning the nomination) has destroyed his campaign. He too has decided to skip the Iowa Straw Poll this Saturday, but his campaign had no real shot at showing well in the poll and so he backed out to have a reason for his poor showing. He did not fair well in 1999 in the Iowa Straw Poll and that was the beginning of the end of his presidential hopes in '99 and here we are in 2008 and we are near the end of the end of his presidential campaign this year. And once again the Iowa Straw Poll will show how little his support he really has.
6. Tom Tancredo
Who ever thought Tancredo would make it this far? In the last ranking he was ranked dead last behind Jim Gilmore. He has made a surge taking bold stances on not only immigration, but has widened his spectrum to taxes, Congresses high spending and even has a better grip on foreign policy and the War on Terror and Iraq. He has became more and more popular and is now the leader of "the new second tier" and he had an excellent 2nd quarter in fundraising and has used it to get his name out in Iowa. All depending on his showing in the Ames Straw Poll, Congressman Tancredo could be positioning him self as a leading candidate to be the VP nominee.
7. Duncan Hunter
Duncan Hunter has remained a solid name in the "second tier", but he hasn't really picked up a lot of ground. He did not perform well in fundraising and is not really gaining popularity, but he has been staying in about the same place in polls (around 6th-8th)
He has had two great showings at the last two debates and is still impressing and surprising people, but just like all the other candidates he will find out where it has put him in the eyes of the people after the Iowa Straw Poll.
8. Sam Brownback
Brownback has become the red headed step child of the group. He doesn't get any attention and in an attempt to get more attention he has constantly cried about other candidates and has on two attempts, blamed candidates for things they had nothing to do with (most recently the Huckabee camp for a supporters email). He has not been charming nearly as many Iowans as pundits thought he would. Instead he has become a big annoyance for everyone else in the race and has dropped into the attack mode attacking Romney, Giuliani and Huckabee and it has not helped him in the polls at all and according to Dr. Frank Luntz' real-time feedback dials voters have not liked what Sam Brownback has said about some of his fellow candidate and many did not approve of his campaigns attack phone calls to voters regarding Mitt Romney.
9. Tommy Thompson
Mr. Wisconsin is the only man who has remained in his post from the last ranking. Tommy has impressed many people on Health Care, if he would make that the main topic of his campaign he would probably be a lot higher in this ranking, but he has not played his card correctly and here he is, a spot away from dead last and only above Ron Paul.
Thompson has been performing better in the debates, but he still isn't "clicking" with voters and it shows. In most polls he is barely registering and in the ones he has he is no higher than 2%, with the exception of a few where voters mistake him for Fred Thompson.
Tommy's campaign will likely be over a week or two after the Straw Poll.
10. Ron Paul
Well I guess we'll see how many Ron Paul cronies read Republican Race '08! Dr. Paul has lost just about all credibility by resorting to the "neo-conservative" movement and take over of the Republican Party. That phase will end any chance he ever had of pulling an upset. It has been a phrase that has ended many "true conservatives" campaigns all across the nation in many republican states. Fact being you don't call your potential voters a name just about all of them hate to be called. You can not alienate voters and expect to win and Ron Paul has done just that. Alienated Republican voters. You would think a man as educated as Dr. Paul would know how to speak to voters, but yet he doesn't and that lands him in dead-last.
We will update the rankings after the Ames Straw Poll this Saturday. Please check back within the next day or two or subscribe by email (just put your email in the box above to the right and click submit) We will have new articles coming regularly.
To those of you who want to know... I have been moving to my new apartment, in a new state and that has consumed a lot of my time the last month and a half and I have not had a chance to hit the blog on a regular basis.
But Good News... I'M BACK and Republican Race '08 is back to being a regularly updated web site.
Stay tuned for the best coverage on the 2008 Republican Race for the White House!
- John McCain had a major meltdown in his campaign when three top campaign leaders, including the Campaign Manager and the Lead Strategist resigned from the campaign.
- Jim Gilmore dropped out of the race and no one has really missed him.
Now for the good stuff...
Republican Presidential Candidate Rankings as of August 7, 2008 (Pre-Ames Straw Poll)
1. Mitt Romney
Well Mitt's use of the almighty dollar puts him at the front of the pack in Iowa and for that case in the race itself. Romney has made sure he is not unknown going into the straw poll. But is Mitt really how Iowa wants? Polls have shown that Romney's message has just not spoke loudly in Iowa. Not nearly as much as his name and face. Lets face the facts, Mitt Romney cleans up well and is an extremely good public speaker and puts out a great image on television looking like a family man who is just another average American, the only part of that, that will come back to bit him is in the Straw Poll and Caucus the voters get to see the candidates in real life and in real life Mitt does not come off anywhere as good as he does on television. Money and popularity have gotten Romney to the top spot, but it is not likely that he will take Iowa just to the fact that Iowans have through out history filtered the phonies out of the race. And that's all Romney is. A pretty talking head phony.2. Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee has been on an unbelievable tear as of late. It looked as if he was about to take a big hit after the second quarter fundraising figures came out. Huckabee had finished in the bottom 3 of Republicans and it looked like his campaign was about to go into panic mode. However Mike had different plans. Just as the name of his latest book, his campaign has risen From Hope to Higher Ground. After the ABC News debate from Iowa it seems as if Huckabee has an excellent chance at not only placing highly at the straw poll, but even winning the poll in Ames. During the Iowa/ABC News Debate Dr. Frank Luntz (one of the nations top political pollsters) used the new real-time dial technology that let's voters give an immediate feedback to what they think about what the candidate is saying. Dr. Luntz said that Huckabee's numbers went through the roof when attacked the Suadi royal family and their involvement and funding of terrorism with money coming from US oil revenue and that America needs to be independent on energy within 10 years. Read this small portion of a Politico.com article..."At the session’s start, only one participant picked Huckabee as the candidate he or she wanted to win. Nine chose former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, eight were for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, five were for the absent Fred Thompson, two were for McCain, and the remaining candidates were picked by one or none.
But when it was over, Huckabee had 14 votes, compared with 10 for Romney, three for Giuliani, one for Fred Thompson and one for Rep. Duncan Hunter of California."
Check out the entire article by clicking here.
This is all great news for the Huckabee camp and he is an a great position to be catapulted to the front of the pack after the Iowa Straw Poll this Saturday.
3-t. Rudy Giuliani
The man who started out the campaign as the favorite to sweep through the primaries with out much resistance has had a much rougher time than expected and has fallen from his top spot. He refuses to get down and play primary politics. Giuliani seems to think that meeting voters one on one in Iowa and even on a big scale by way of the Ames Straw Poll and the September YouTube debate is too much work for him and not enough gain. Not only has Giuliani lost hundreds of thousands of potential votes by trying to play primary politics on a national level, he has alienated much of his support in Iowa which is THE most important state in the primaries for Republicans. Does anyone else remember what happened to the last big name candidate who tried to take his campaign to a national level months in advance and then got blown out in the primaries?It was only four years ago when just that happened to the democrats original favorite, Howard Dean. Dean had money, a popular name, a message that many democrats were in too and so he thought he could skip the entire primary process that has elected our Presidents all through out history and get a seventh month head start on the general election.
I believe Rudy Giuliani will be wishing he would have learned the phrase "If you don't learn history, you are doomed to repeat it." Because it seems like Mayor Giuliani is totally clueless as to what is about to happen to his campaign in the primary states. And that is fail.
3-t. Fred Thompson
Time is running out for Fred Thompson. All depending on how the Ames Iowa Straw Poll turns out he could find himself losing a lot of his popularity. His name being on the ballot may actually hurt him. If he does not finish in the top two and loses to some one who is not Rudy Giulian or John McCain (which is very likely) he will begin to slip as "the candidate everyone wants". If Mike Huckabee wins the Straw Poll it will likely end the chances of Fred Thompson entering the campaign as the favorite. Right now he thrives on being the "true conservative" which is nothing but a myth. A Huckabee win at the Straw Poll would undoubtedly put Mike in the "top tier" and all it would take to find out that Huckabee is much more conservative than Fred is a few minutes on the internet. Not to mention Huckabee beats him out on experience and record. If Fred Thompson wants to be the Republican nominee, he better hope Huckabee has a bad showing at the Ames Straw Poll or he better jump in the race and try to spin his weak record to people. If he does not, his campaign will be nothing but a "what if" by the end of the month.5. John McCain
As you saw above, McCain's campaign has taken hit, after hit, after hit and it is really starting to show. He has been declared the loser of ever debate, except for the first according to Dr. Frank Luntz, the Fox News pollster mentioned earlier in the rankings. It seems like Immigration (which if you might remember Republican Race '08 predicted it spoiling his chance at winning the nomination) has destroyed his campaign. He too has decided to skip the Iowa Straw Poll this Saturday, but his campaign had no real shot at showing well in the poll and so he backed out to have a reason for his poor showing. He did not fair well in 1999 in the Iowa Straw Poll and that was the beginning of the end of his presidential hopes in '99 and here we are in 2008 and we are near the end of the end of his presidential campaign this year. And once again the Iowa Straw Poll will show how little his support he really has.6. Tom Tancredo
Who ever thought Tancredo would make it this far? In the last ranking he was ranked dead last behind Jim Gilmore. He has made a surge taking bold stances on not only immigration, but has widened his spectrum to taxes, Congresses high spending and even has a better grip on foreign policy and the War on Terror and Iraq. He has became more and more popular and is now the leader of "the new second tier" and he had an excellent 2nd quarter in fundraising and has used it to get his name out in Iowa. All depending on his showing in the Ames Straw Poll, Congressman Tancredo could be positioning him self as a leading candidate to be the VP nominee.7. Duncan Hunter
Duncan Hunter has remained a solid name in the "second tier", but he hasn't really picked up a lot of ground. He did not perform well in fundraising and is not really gaining popularity, but he has been staying in about the same place in polls (around 6th-8th)He has had two great showings at the last two debates and is still impressing and surprising people, but just like all the other candidates he will find out where it has put him in the eyes of the people after the Iowa Straw Poll.
8. Sam Brownback
Brownback has become the red headed step child of the group. He doesn't get any attention and in an attempt to get more attention he has constantly cried about other candidates and has on two attempts, blamed candidates for things they had nothing to do with (most recently the Huckabee camp for a supporters email). He has not been charming nearly as many Iowans as pundits thought he would. Instead he has become a big annoyance for everyone else in the race and has dropped into the attack mode attacking Romney, Giuliani and Huckabee and it has not helped him in the polls at all and according to Dr. Frank Luntz' real-time feedback dials voters have not liked what Sam Brownback has said about some of his fellow candidate and many did not approve of his campaigns attack phone calls to voters regarding Mitt Romney.9. Tommy Thompson
Mr. Wisconsin is the only man who has remained in his post from the last ranking. Tommy has impressed many people on Health Care, if he would make that the main topic of his campaign he would probably be a lot higher in this ranking, but he has not played his card correctly and here he is, a spot away from dead last and only above Ron Paul.Thompson has been performing better in the debates, but he still isn't "clicking" with voters and it shows. In most polls he is barely registering and in the ones he has he is no higher than 2%, with the exception of a few where voters mistake him for Fred Thompson.
Tommy's campaign will likely be over a week or two after the Straw Poll.
10. Ron Paul
Well I guess we'll see how many Ron Paul cronies read Republican Race '08! Dr. Paul has lost just about all credibility by resorting to the "neo-conservative" movement and take over of the Republican Party. That phase will end any chance he ever had of pulling an upset. It has been a phrase that has ended many "true conservatives" campaigns all across the nation in many republican states. Fact being you don't call your potential voters a name just about all of them hate to be called. You can not alienate voters and expect to win and Ron Paul has done just that. Alienated Republican voters. You would think a man as educated as Dr. Paul would know how to speak to voters, but yet he doesn't and that lands him in dead-last.We will update the rankings after the Ames Straw Poll this Saturday. Please check back within the next day or two or subscribe by email (just put your email in the box above to the right and click submit) We will have new articles coming regularly.
To those of you who want to know... I have been moving to my new apartment, in a new state and that has consumed a lot of my time the last month and a half and I have not had a chance to hit the blog on a regular basis.
But Good News... I'M BACK and Republican Race '08 is back to being a regularly updated web site.
Stay tuned for the best coverage on the 2008 Republican Race for the White House!
Huckabee's Message is Right for South Carolina, Iowa, New Hampshire, and America
To contact us Click HERE
That quote came from former Governor of South Carolina David Beasley in today's Conference Call with Bloggers with Gov. Mike Huckabee.
We got a chance to actually get in two questions today...
Our first question was... Gov. Huckabee, Sam Brownback has recently launched an aggressive attack campaign on both Mitt Romney and yourself, to a lesser degree. And the Club for Growth has a distorted smear ad out against you. How do you feel about attacking other candidates in politics and what’s your personal opinion on the ad’s out against yourself and Gov. Romney? And do you think running your campaign with more integrity, on a positive message focusing on yourself rather than someone else, is why you have passed Senator Brownback and are doing so well in Iowa?
- Gov. Huckabee said "(Iowan voters) want to hear what’s great about America, not what's bad about another candidate." He said that it's important not to go out against another candidate in your party because “you have to eat your words months down the road if that person gets the nomination and then you have to act like that person is better than toothpaste". He said the he thinks a large part of the reason he has done so well in Iowa, is that Iowans like his positive message that focuses on him and not against another candidate.
Gov. Huckabee also said the attack ads just give further validation that his campaign his gaining huge momentum and that Washington and other candidates are trying to slow him down, but it is not working.
-Gov. Beasley also gave his opinions on the Club for Growths smear ad against Huckabee. "He’s Not a inside the beltway person and that's what they are against him(Huckabee)… that’s why we need a guy like Mike Huckabee" He also said, "Washington is trying to put out a message that America does not want to hear, but Gov. Huckabee is talking about what Americans think is important. The Club for Growth in Washington is not putting out a message like many of the Club for Growth members I know around the country, who have the same message as Gov. Huckabee."
And the second question was a lighter topic...
Gov. Huckabee, after seeing yourself in third in the ABC News/Washington Post poll and winning the debate and blowing away voters according to Dr. Frank Luntz, and even having Speaker Gingrich who is one of the most respected people in the party say everything he said. Have you gotten a chance to take a step back and actually think that you have a good shot of being on that stage in Saint Paul in September accepting the GOP nomination and if so how does that feel?
-He said that he hadn't had time to really think about and the campaign has been so focused at getting every possible vote on Saturday it has been a full steam ahead type deal. He did say that he knows he has to remember it's a long way until next September and he does have to remember that, but he seemed pretty excited about the idea of being on the stage in St. Paul accepting his parties nomination, but hey, who wouldn't?
Gov. Huckabee had stressed early in the debate about how much the people of Iowa like his message saying “We’ve used minimal resources to pass those who are using millions of dollars” and seemed very please with the status of his campaign.
Gov. Beasley said that Mike has out ran the big money candidates by "pounding the pavement in Iowa" and getting his message into every home in Iowa. Not through their TV, but through their door. "He takes the time to give his consistent message and consistent record to all the people in Iowa".
Gov. Huckabee seems very excited about this Saturday and think that "history will be made there". The Huckabee campaign will have a action packed day including two scheduled performances of Capitol Offense "the best band in politics" and also Watermelon for everyone from Mike's hometown of Hope, Arkansas. They will also be giving away a 100+ pound watermelon.
The candidate who currently holds the number two spot in the Republican Race '08 Rankings is looking to have a big day on Saturday.
Stay Tuned for more coverage all week long on the 2007 Ames Iowa Straw Poll.
That quote came from former Governor of South Carolina David Beasley in today's Conference Call with Bloggers with Gov. Mike Huckabee.We got a chance to actually get in two questions today...
Our first question was... Gov. Huckabee, Sam Brownback has recently launched an aggressive attack campaign on both Mitt Romney and yourself, to a lesser degree. And the Club for Growth has a distorted smear ad out against you. How do you feel about attacking other candidates in politics and what’s your personal opinion on the ad’s out against yourself and Gov. Romney? And do you think running your campaign with more integrity, on a positive message focusing on yourself rather than someone else, is why you have passed Senator Brownback and are doing so well in Iowa?
- Gov. Huckabee said "(Iowan voters) want to hear what’s great about America, not what's bad about another candidate." He said that it's important not to go out against another candidate in your party because “you have to eat your words months down the road if that person gets the nomination and then you have to act like that person is better than toothpaste". He said the he thinks a large part of the reason he has done so well in Iowa, is that Iowans like his positive message that focuses on him and not against another candidate.
Gov. Huckabee also said the attack ads just give further validation that his campaign his gaining huge momentum and that Washington and other candidates are trying to slow him down, but it is not working.
-Gov. Beasley also gave his opinions on the Club for Growths smear ad against Huckabee. "He’s Not a inside the beltway person and that's what they are against him(Huckabee)… that’s why we need a guy like Mike Huckabee" He also said, "Washington is trying to put out a message that America does not want to hear, but Gov. Huckabee is talking about what Americans think is important. The Club for Growth in Washington is not putting out a message like many of the Club for Growth members I know around the country, who have the same message as Gov. Huckabee."
And the second question was a lighter topic...
Gov. Huckabee, after seeing yourself in third in the ABC News/Washington Post poll and winning the debate and blowing away voters according to Dr. Frank Luntz, and even having Speaker Gingrich who is one of the most respected people in the party say everything he said. Have you gotten a chance to take a step back and actually think that you have a good shot of being on that stage in Saint Paul in September accepting the GOP nomination and if so how does that feel?
-He said that he hadn't had time to really think about and the campaign has been so focused at getting every possible vote on Saturday it has been a full steam ahead type deal. He did say that he knows he has to remember it's a long way until next September and he does have to remember that, but he seemed pretty excited about the idea of being on the stage in St. Paul accepting his parties nomination, but hey, who wouldn't?
Gov. Huckabee had stressed early in the debate about how much the people of Iowa like his message saying “We’ve used minimal resources to pass those who are using millions of dollars” and seemed very please with the status of his campaign.
Gov. Beasley said that Mike has out ran the big money candidates by "pounding the pavement in Iowa" and getting his message into every home in Iowa. Not through their TV, but through their door. "He takes the time to give his consistent message and consistent record to all the people in Iowa".
Gov. Huckabee seems very excited about this Saturday and think that "history will be made there". The Huckabee campaign will have a action packed day including two scheduled performances of Capitol Offense "the best band in politics" and also Watermelon for everyone from Mike's hometown of Hope, Arkansas. They will also be giving away a 100+ pound watermelon.
The candidate who currently holds the number two spot in the Republican Race '08 Rankings is looking to have a big day on Saturday.
Stay Tuned for more coverage all week long on the 2007 Ames Iowa Straw Poll.
20 Haziran 2012 Çarşamba
Happy Flag Day 2012
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President Obama and President Putin of Rusia After Bilateral Meeting (Transcript)
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For Immediate Release: June 18, 2012
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Remarks by President Obama and President Putin of Rusia After Bilateral Meeting
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Remarks by President Obama and President Putin of Rusia After Bilateral Meeting
"PRESIDENT PUTIN: (As interpreted.) Mr. President, this has been our second meeting. I remember our lengthy meeting we had in Moscow.
Today we had a very meaningful and subject-oriented discussion. We've been able to discuss issues pertaining to security. We discussed bilateral economic relations. In this regard, I'd like to thank you for the support rendered to Russia with our accession to the World Trade Organization. I'm confident this will help to further develop the economic relations between our two countries, to promote the creation of jobs in both countries.
We also discussed international affairs, including the Syrian affair. From my perspective, we've been able to find many commonalities pertaining to all of those issues. And we'll now further develop our contacts both on a personal level and on the level of our experts involved.
You visited the Russian Federation three years ago. Now welcome again. I invite you to visit Moscow.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you very much, Mr. President.
We, in fact, did have a candid, thoughtful and thorough conversation on a whole range of bilateral and international issues. Over the last three years, the United States and Russia have been able to make significant progress on a wide range of issues, including the New START Treaty, the 1,2,3 Agreement, the work we've done on Russia's accession to the WTO, and setting up a presidential process whereby issues of trade and commerce, science, technology are all discussed at a much more intensive level.
We agreed that we need to build on these successes, even as we recognize that there are going to be areas of disagreement, and that we can find constructive ways to manage through any bilateral tensions. In particular, we discussed the need to expand trade and commercial ties between the United States and Russia, which are still far below where they should be. And I emphasized my priority of having Congress repeal Jackson-Vanik, provide permanent trade relations status to Russia so that American businesses can take advantage of the extraordinary opportunities now that Russia is a member of the WTO.
We discussed a range of strategic issues, including missile defense, and resolved to continue to work through some of the difficult problems involved there.
I thanked the President and the Russian people for the work they’ve done with us on the Northern Distribution Network that is vital to providing supplies and resources to our brave troops who are still in Afghanistan.
We emphasized our shared approach when it comes to the Iranian situation as members of the P5+1. We agreed that there’s still time and space to resolve diplomatically the issue of Iran’s potential development of nuclear weapons, as well as its interest in developing peaceful nuclear power.
And finally, as Mr. President mentioned, we discussed Syria, where we agreed that we need to see a cessation of the violence, that a political process has to be created to prevent civil war, and the kind of horrific events that we’ve seen over the last several weeks, and we pledged to work with other international actors including the United Nations, Kofi Annan, and all the interested parties in trying to find a resolution to this problem.
Mr. President, I look forward to visiting Russia again, and I look forward to hosting you in the United States.
Thank you, everybody."
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Presidential Notice: Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Risk of Nuclear Proliferation Created by the Accumulation of Weapons-Usable Fissile Material in the Territory of the Russian Federation
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Notice: Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Risk of Nuclear Proliferation Created by the Accumulation of Weapons-Usable Fissile Material in the Territory of the Russian Federation
For Immediate Release: June 18, 2012
Notice: Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Risk of Nuclear Proliferation Created by the Accumulation of Weapons-Usable Fissile Material in the Territory of the Russian Federation
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Notice: Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Risk of Nuclear Proliferation Created by the Accumulation of Weapons-Usable Fissile Material in the Territory of the Russian Federation"On June 21, 2000, the President issued Executive Order 13159 (the "order") blocking property and interests in property of the Government of the Russian Federation that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons that are directly related to the implementation of the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Russian Federation Concerning the Disposition of Highly Enriched Uranium Extracted from Nuclear Weapons, dated February 18, 1993, and related contracts and agreements (collectively, the "HEU Agreements"). The HEU Agreements allow for the downblending of highly enriched uranium derived from nuclear weapons to low enriched uranium for peaceful commercial purposes. The order invoked the authority, inter alia, of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) and declared a national emergency to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by the risk of nuclear proliferation created by the accumulation of a large volume of weapons-usable fissile material in the territory of the Russian Federation.
The national emergency declared on June 21, 2000, must continue beyond June 21, 2012, to provide continued protection from attachment, judgment, decree, lien, execution, garnishment, or other judicial process for the property and interests in property of the Government of the Russian Federation that are directly related to the implementation of the HEU Agreements and subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. l622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency with respect to the risk of nuclear proliferation created by the accumulation of weapons-usable fissile material in the territory of the Russian Federation.
This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.
BARACK OBAMA"
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Joint Statement by President Barack Obama and Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin
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Joint Statement by the President of the United States of America Barack Obama and the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin
For Immediate Release: June 18, 2012
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For Immediate Release: June 18, 2012
"The United States of America and the Russian Federation confirm our commitment to strengthening close and cooperative relations for the benefit of the peoples of our countries, international peace, global prosperity, and security. In recent years, we have laid a solid foundation for expanding our bilateral interaction in a variety of areas. Today we agree to continue this work guided by the principles of the rule of law, respect for human rights, equality, and mutual respect.
One of the key tasks on our shared agenda is the expansion of trade and investment relations, which should foster mutual economic growth and prosperity. To this end, we have agreed to prioritize the expansion and diversification of our bilateral trade and investment through nondiscriminatory access to our markets based on international rules.
An important step in this direction is Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), which has become possible thanks to our joint efforts. In order for WTO rules and mechanisms to apply to our bilateral trade, the Obama Administration is working closely with the U.S. Congress to terminate, as soon as possible, application of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment with respect to Russia and extend Permanent Normal Trade Relations to the Russian Federation. The United States has also welcomed and offered its support to Russia’s pursuit of membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Nuclear arms control and non-proliferation remain a special responsibility for the United States and Russia as the two states with the world’s largest nuclear weapons arsenals. We reiterate our strong support for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and our shared goal of universal adherence to and compliance with that Treaty and the International Atomic Energy Agency’s comprehensive safeguards, consistent with the Treaty’s Article III, and with the Additional Protocol. We recognize the achievements made through the Nuclear Security Summits, including the removal and elimination of nuclear materials, minimization of the civilian use of highly enriched uranium, and worldwide improvements in a nuclear security culture.
We are continuing research on the feasibility of converting research reactors in the United States and Russia to low-enriched uranium fuel. We agree to redouble bilateral efforts to improve nuclear security, counter nuclear smuggling, and combat nuclear terrorism, as well as to facilitate the beginning of negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament on a fissile material cutoff treaty that will halt production of fissile materials for use in nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices, within the framework of a balanced program of work at the Conference. We will strive for the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty.
As a priority, we intend to successfully implement the New START Treaty, and to continue our discussions on strategic stability. Despite differences in assessments, we have agreed to continue a joint search for solutions to challenges in the field of missile defense.
The pursuit of international peace and security remains a priority for the United States and Russia, recognizing how much we have to gain by working together to overcome the main challenges of this century. While recognizing Iran’s right to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, we agree that Iran must undertake serious efforts aimed at restoring international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program. To this end, Tehran must fully comply with its obligations under the relevant UN Security Council and IAEA Board of Governors resolutions, and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency for the expedited resolution of all remaining issues. Our common goal remains a comprehensive negotiated settlement based on the principles of a step-by-step approach and reciprocity, and we look forward to constructive engagement with Iran through the P5+1 process, including the latest round of talks taking place in Moscow on June 18-19.
We urge North Korea to come into compliance with all the relevant directives of the UN Security Council and fulfill its commitments under the Joint Statement by China, the DPRK, the Republic of Korea, Russia, the U.S., and Japan of September 19, 2005. We count on the DPRK not to commit acts that would escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula. As partners in the Six-Party talks, we are prepared to continue the joint efforts to achieve verifiable denuclearization on the Korean peninsula in accordance with the Joint Statement of September 19, 2005.
We agree to cooperate bilaterally and multilaterally to solve regional conflicts. In order to stop the bloodshed in Syria, we call for an immediate cessation of all violence and express full support for the efforts of UN/League of Arab States Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan, including moving forward on political transition to a democratic, pluralistic political system that would be implemented by the Syrians themselves in the framework of Syria's sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity. We are united in the belief that the Syrian people should have the opportunity to independently and democratically choose their own future.
The need for a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in the Middle East has never been more apparent, and we will continue working with our Quartet partners to advance peace efforts on the basis of the Quartet statements of September 23, 2011, and April 11, 2012, and to strengthen the Palestinian Authority’s ability to meet the full range of civil and security needs of the Palestinian people, both now and in a future state.
The United States and Russia continue to face a common threat from al Qaeda and other terrorist groups operating in and around Afghanistan. We recognize that this is a pivotal time for international efforts to strengthen security and promote economic development in Afghanistan, as well as to counter the narcotics threat. With the successful implementation of bilateral and multilateral transit arrangements, Russia has made a significant contribution to international efforts to promote stability in Afghanistan.
We reiterate that the process leading to reconciliation must be truly Afghan-led and Afghan-implemented. Reconciliation must include, as integral parts, a commitment to a sovereign, stable, and unified Afghanistan, breaking ties to al Qaeda, ending violence, and accepting the Afghan Constitution, including its human rights provisions, notably the rights of women. We will explore opportunities to strengthen the Northern Distribution Network, to bolster regional security, and to expand cooperation as we fight terrorism and narcotics trafficking, taking advantage of the capabilities of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the NATO-Russia Council to enhance law-enforcement training for the region.
The United States of America and the Russian Federation intend to increase cooperation in addressing the world drug problem, so as to radically reduce production and consumption of illicit drugs, as affirmed by resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. We are ready to continue active support of efforts undertaken by the international community to counteract illicit production and illegal trafficking and consumption of drugs.
The United States of America and the Russian Federation are committed to furthering our multifaceted cooperation to counter terrorism. Both our nations face persistent and evolving domestic and transnational terrorist threats, including from terrorists based in North Africa, the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Acknowledging the global character of these challenges, we reaffirm our readiness for further joint work to implement the UN’s Global Counterterrorism Strategy, the UN Security Council resolutions and statements on terrorism, as well as to utilize other applicable international counterterrorism instruments, including counterterrorism sanctions regimes introduced by the UN Security Council with respect to al Qaeda and the Taliban.
The United States and Russia affirm our intent to work together to ensure the long-term success of the recently launched Global Counterterrorism Forum and continue to interact on various multilateral platforms, including the G-8 Roma/Lyon Group, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, the ASEAN Regional Forum, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). We will continue to work together to counter financial support for terrorism, disrupt the possible connections between terrorist networks and criminal groups, prevent the spread of violent extremism, and improve transportation security, including by concluding bilateral agreements in this field.
An important role in strengthening U.S.-Russian relations belongs to the Presidential Commission, created in July 2009, which coordinates our bilateral cooperation on the widest range of issues from strategic stability, energy and space, fighting terrorism and illegal drug trafficking and consumption– to public health, agriculture, the environment, civil society, and cultural and educational exchanges. We are pleased to announce a new Working Group on Military-Technical Cooperation. U.S.-Russian cooperation has been growing in the global fight against malaria.
This year we together celebrate the 200th anniversary of Fort Ross in California, which was founded by Russian settlers and underscores the historic ties between our countries. In order to give our bilateral relations a new quality, we intend to pay special attention to broadening contacts between our peoples and societies, including by liberalizing the visa regime. We welcome steps to bring into force the U.S.-Russian Agreement on Simplifying Visa Formalities, signed in 2011, which should make two-way travel by American and Russian tourist and business travelers easier. We also commit to work together to ensure the rights and protections of adopted children. This will be facilitated by bringing into force and implementing the bilateral adoptions agreement signed last year.
The United States of America and the Russian Federation will only be able to achieve positive new results by acting together for the purpose of strengthening the democracy, security, and prosperity of the American and Russian peoples, and by solving other complex challenges confronting our countries and the international community."
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