Interview With Melody Scalley, Host of “Politics on the Edge,” 103.3 WESR FM, Over Her Support for Scott Rigell for Congress
Dustin Siggins: You’re a talk show host- your reputation is important. Why pick this guy?
Melody Scalley: I ran for the House of Delegates last year in the 100th District of Virginia, and I got to know all six of the candidates who were running for the Republican nomination for Congress in 2010. Scott Rigell is a business leader (he was just inducted in the Hampton Roades Hall of Fame for his business leadership), he’s a graduate of Regent University, he and his wife home-schooled all four of their kids and he served in the Marines (as does his son- and his father is an Iwo Jima veteran).
DS: What are the top two issues he addresses?
MS: He’s actually created jobs- his business is Freedom Automotives, and he’s hired more people than the Blue Dog/Yellow Dog/Lap Dog incumbent, Glenn Nye (VA-O2). Jobs and the killing by government of the free market and jobs, as well as the debt that is putting us, our children and grand-children in debt.
DS: Where does he stand on Iraq and Afghanistan?
MS: He believes we need a strong national defense, and if we are going to send our boys into harm’s way, we should declare war. [DS: Ms. Scalley did not wish to convey Mr. Rigell's convictions on Iraq and Afghanistan, since she does not speak for the campaign.]
DS: What does he think of Fed’s actions thus far in the recession?
MS: He has said we should audit the Fed, and signed the Tea Party Agreement for auditing the Fed.
Interview With Bob Williams of State Budget Solutions
Thanks to Allie Winegar Duzett for the video.
Interview With Radio Host Jeff Akin of Texas and Arkansas
Thanks to Allie Winegar Duzett for the video.
Taking Back Education–AFP Summit
Still blogging from the Americans for Prosperity Defending the American Dream Summit.
Isaac Morehouse with the Foundation for Economic Education says that to make a difference, we need to either shrink the Overton Window by narrowing the possibilities, or shift the Window entirely. This means that we must change the window of what is acceptable to voters, either by making the window of potential options smaller, or by changing the window altogether. To do this we must educate. We need an informed electorate.
In his book Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman points out that at the time of the American Founding, around 97% of Americans, male and female, were literate—which was even more astounding considering that in most nations at that time, reading was a privilege reserved for male aristocrats. Nearly everyone could read, and moreover, nearly everyone did. When Thomas Paine’s Common Sense came out, there was approximately one copy available for every three people on the American continent. Virtually everyone on the continent had read Common Sense. This is what it means to have an informed electorate.
This has to be our goal. This has to be our goal. We need to inform those around us, and not just for the short term. We need to plan ahead with this. The Left has been pretty effective with their long-term plans: see how they’ve almost completely conquered the field of academia. Even the conservative, Christian college I attended had a strong left-wing bent in certain fields, such as environmental science.
We need to take back education. And I don’t just mean in schools, although that’s important too, and we should all at least consider the possibility of someday becoming professors or professional schoolteachers. But more than that, we need to blog. We need to talk to our friends. Update our Facebooks with important information. We need to pass out flyers and invite our neighbors over for dinner to discuss the issues. This is the way we’re going to make a difference in the long-term: we’re going to have to change our culture. And that change will have to start with us.
Allie Winegar Duzett is the author of How to Save America: A Tactical Guide for Practical Patriots. Find her on Twitter for livetweeting of the event. Crossposting today at Rightosphere, TruePoliticsUSA, and Conservatives4Congress.
Intentions Are Not Enough–AFP Summit
Blogging from the Americans for Prosperity Defending the American Dream Summit today, and listening to Isaac Morehouse with the Foundation for Economic Education talk about how to make a difference. He makes a good point:
Intentions are not enough.
I think this is a hard lesson the conservative movement is currently learning. Just wanting smaller government and less spending is not enough. We have to act. And more importantly—when we act, we need to be sure that the ideas we are acting on are not just significant to us, but correct.
By this I mean, believing sincerely in something does not make it right. Believing sincerely that a particular tactical move will make a difference politically does not automatically mean that it actually will.
This is why it’s so important that we as a movement and as individuals experiment with our political tactics. And when we’ve found techniques that work, we need to keep using them.
Allie Winegar Duzett is the author of How to Save America: A Tactical Guide for Practical Patriots. Find her on Twitter for livetweeting of the event. Crossposting today at TruePoliticsUSA, Rightosphere, and Conservatives4Congress.
Free Speech…. NO! I Didn’t Mean ‘Theirs’!
Someone should tell Glenn Beck that is is terribly insensitive for him to have a “restoring honor” rally on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a Dream” speech and at the same location. Haven’t we learned anything from the Ground Zero Mosque? Obviously, this is not how I feel; I believe that the Ground Zero mosque can be built wherever the legal property owners want to build it, and we should give them the benefit of the doubt that they are going to operate as a peaceful mosque like so many other mosques in America do. If the Northern Protestant Irishmen and women held the Catholic Church accountable for the sins of the IRA (and PIRA) as we do for Muslims, there wouldn’t be a single Catholic Church there.
But I digress: there is apparently something wrong with Glenn Beck’s rally, but not something wrong with the Ground Zero Mosque. This is the stance some of our friends on the left are taking lately. People are reacting worse to the Beck event than the Ground Zero Mosque as a matter of fact:
“We are going to take on the barbarism of war, the decadence of racism, and the scourge of poverty, that the Ku Klux — I meant to say the Tea Party,” Fauntroy told a news conference today at the National Press Club. “You all forgive me, but I — you have to use them interchangeably.”
So there are going to be counter-”Restoring Honor” rallies held to protest the people who are going to celebrate MLK’s dream, celebrate the brave men and women overseas, and celebrate the country and patriotism. Apparently, these are topics that would offend the late Dr. King. Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped Dr. King’s niece from supporting the “Restoring Honor” rally. As a matter of fact, she is speaking at it.
What I am interested in seeing, is places like Wonkette and the DailyKos and Outside The Beltway, and how they are going to treat the counter-protesters. Perhaps with the same venom and animosity as they have the Tea Party and counter-Ground Zero Mosquers? I won’t put money on that!
-rj
Interview With Joe Thomas: WCHV Radio, Charlottesville, VA
Dustin Siggins: What are your thoughts Arizona-style bill in Virginia?
Joe Thomas: The complaints are unfounded. Chairman Stewart of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors put this in inside the county two years ago, and not one case has been brought to court accusing of racial profiling. On top of the fact that the county was listed as 17th-most business friendly county in the nation the by BusinessWeek or World Report.
DS: How do you think the governor has done in regards to his campaign pledges on taxes and fees, and whatnot?
JT: He mostly left that to the General Assembly. Regarding monies taken from retirement funds, I agree with Delegate Ben Klein that surplus monies should be put toward the retirement fund, since deferments were included as part of balancing the budget.
DS: What do you think about Senator Jim Webb’s piece a few weeks ago about affirmative action?
JT: He made some good points, but forgets the market is the best arbiter of equality, not government.
DS: So do you oppose laws against refusing services?
JT: Well, refusing services is refusing revenue. Why would any business interested in surviving be against making money and sending it to the competition. A true free market will not deny a customer, especially in today’s world.
Additionally, affirmative action hurts minorities because it damages their standing- a high-achieving minority is viewed as having achieved through entitlements as opposed to effort.
Interview With Rob Port: 1100 AM WZFG (Fargo, ND) and SayAnythingBlog.com
DS: How do you see the Berg/Pomeroy playing out?
RP: Berg has been in the lead for seven consecutive months with Rasmussen (few other organizations poll in ND). This may be the race of his life.
DS: Health care and what else puts him in trouble?
RP: For a while he has portrayed himself as a fiscal conservative and a Blue Dog- but that perception has kind of disappeared. Example: Pomeroy voted against cap-and-trade but also voted against the Lame Duck Bill from Rep. Price (R-GA), and right away President Obama said he would push for cap-and-trade in a Lame Duck Session.
Additionally, Senator Conrad is saying it could be one of the most significant Lame Duck Sessions in history. This could mean significant tax increases, etc.- especially with the Deficit Commission recommendations coming December 1.
DS: Hoeven is killing his opponent?
RP: Let’s put it this way- Alvin Greene is polling better against Senator DeMint in South Carolina than Tracy Potter in North Dakota.
DS: How did you get involved in ND politics?
RP: I started blogging seven years ago, and before that I was apolitical. I was called a “war blogger,” because that was what we primarily wrote about because of media bias against the war.
Tips in Messaging Liberty: Break-Out Session
1. Think about how others interpret what you say.
- Substance is important- but spend time on your presentation
- Don’t brush aside challenges
- Ask yourself: “How could someone twist the meaning of my words around?
2. Be sociable.
- You have to spread the message, especially to those who don’t agree with you.
- Be the person others want to emulate, and respect.
3. Be positive more than negative- remember, liberty is a GOOD thing.
- Don’t:
- Focus on how bad everything is.
- Try to persuade people with fear and anger.
- Don’t let people portray you as angry.
- Hayek was positive, and talked about how things COULD be better.
4. Use demographics to your advantage.
- Logic is different for different people- be aware of motivating factors.
- Vary your argument based on your audience (War on Drugs is detrimental because minority groups have been disproportionately harmed, for example).
- Should we advocate liberty to specific groups? YES!
5. Don’t idealize the past- and look towards the future.
- We have never been completely free. Blacks and women may see the past as different than white men.
- Focus on the future, and the positive nature of liberty.
- Don’t say society was ever ideal (necessarily), because full liberty was not available.
6. Humanize the argument:
- Don’t talk in the abstract. Get down into the nitty-gritty.
- It’s easier to argue against a theoretical position against a real-world problem.
7. Use sound bites.
- Catchphrases and soundbites work.
- The shorter the better.
- Convey key points.
- They should be easy to remember.
- Stay on message, and REPEAT the soundbites.
Americans for Prosperity
Myself and Allie Winegar Duzett will be blogging at Americans for Prosperity’s National Summit today. Enjoy!
