Mitt Romney Wins NH Straw Poll: Duh…
A poll sponsored by ABC News and WMUR was released yesterday showing Former Governor Mitt Romney with a commanding lead over all of the other Republican Presidential candidates for 2012. Our friends over at Race42012 posted the numbers:
Mitt Romney 35%
Ron Paul 11%
Tim Pawlenty 8%
Sarah Palin 7%
Michele Bachmann 5%
Jim DeMint 5%
Herman Cain 34%
Chris Christie 3%
Rick Santorum 3%
Mitch Daniels 3%
Newt Gingrich 3%
Mike Huckabee 3%
Mike Pence 3%
Rudy Giuliani 2%
Judd Gregg 2%
Gary Johnson 2%
Other 2%
Donald Trump 1%
Haley Barbour 1%
Jon Huntsman 0%
John Thune 0%
There are 169 comments over at Race42012 about this poll. I don’t think anyone can really be surprised that Mitt Romney did so well; he was Governor of Massachusetts and this is New Hampshire that we are talking about. Perhaps we can get our resident New Hampshire…ian? to shed some light on what he takes out of these numbers. I for one know I am asking the question on everyone’s mind… where was Liz Cheney?
-rj
BEFORE You Pass the Unemployment Extension!
Unemployment is the new-old hot button issue that is all over the news again since we finally corked the oil spill in the Gulf for the time being. This is also a topic that affects far more Americans directly, so naturally, it is back on the front burner before Congress takes their August recess. Today it is looking like we are going to get the extension passed without any consideration for how it will be paid for, or what it will even accomplish.
There is one talking point I would like clarified by our friends on the left: has the stimulus been successful, or are we in a dire situation? We cannot have it both ways, and yet, President Obama and his cabinet would like you to believe that the stimulus was successful while at the same time lecturing the Republicans on the reasonableness of passing the unemployment extension because we are in a crisis (and God knows, this Administration won’t let any crisis go to waste!). You can’t have your cake and eat it too, although, we are supposed to eat ours.
So which is it? Those of us with a more Conservative (or rugged individualism) proclivity are likely to say, “a year for unemployment benefits is ample time! Suck it up and get a job!” Those of us who may be more mindful of taking care of our fellow man (or, at least forcing others to do so through government so we don’t have to do the dirty work ourselves) might argue, “there are no jobs, what are they supposed to do?”
Taking only one side of this issue leaves one without a complete understanding of our present crisis’ gestalt. There are certainly a number of situations where people have been using unemployment benefits to subsidize their sloth; while one cannot take away from the fact that some areas of a state simply have no infrastructure for job growth. You cannot deny that the job situation has gotten worse, the New York Times has an interactive map that shows the growing unemployment rates state by state and how they climbed over time. Furthermore, the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not show a particularly peachy picture of jobs to come, considering at the present moment there are five Americans competing for every one job.
I know it won’t happen, but there are two things I would like to see done if Congress and the President are to pass the Emergency Unemployment Benefits Extension:
First, I cannot imagine why we can’t find a way to pay for it. Emergency unemployment benefits are not paid by the employer during the worker’s tenure, it comes straight out of thin air thanks to the Federal government’s Nietzschean ability to posit something from nothing; in this case, create money and with it, value. The Federal government sets aside a block grant to the state, whose Department of Labor hands out the benefits accordingly. Our Federal deficit stands at a paltry $1.6 Trillion dollars this year, as projected by the administration. The Unemployment bill that is set to pass today will add yet another $36 Billion to our gluttonous budget, and all the Republicans and a few Blue-Dogs ask for is a means to pay for it… part of it? Half of it? Any of it? Somebody please go to YouCut and find one of those programs that Representative Cantor’s office has bulls-eyed and we could have this extension paid for.
Secondly, I’ve already hinted to it earlier in the piece, but the Wall Street Journal has an article about stimulating unemployment where a crazy correlation was made: “A 2006 NBER study by Raj Chetty of UC Berkeley on a related subject begins, ‘It is well known that unemployment benefits raise unemployment durations.’” Imagine that: incentivizing people to not get jobs, and then telling them “well instead of getting a job call your Congressman and ask him or her to extend unemployment benefits” would lead people to strive for nothing. That’s as stupid as setting time-tables in a war. Nevertheless, if we are going to do this last emergency extension, why the hell would we not get something out of it in return? Why not ask of people (and I say ask now, but rather, I’d be much more willing to demand it as part of the prerequisite for receiving such benefits) to help out their community? I would make it mandatory for people to volunteer at least 20 hours of their week towards their community, state or nation in exchange for their free benefits (because we must remember, that they did not pay into this unemployment pool). This would allow people to create at least some value from their benefits outside of paying for the bare necessities that had to be paid for already. Giving money away doesn’t add value; but giving money to people in exchange for something does.
When I mentioned this on my Twitter account (follow me, rcaster – we are not afraid of shameless self promotion here) I was accosted by some #P2 fellow, which means he is a “Progressive” in Twitter lexicon. He claimed my idea was unfair because “the unemployed are not criminals!” I would have re-posted the conversation for you, but BlackJedi”somethingorother” was embarrassed enough to just erase his entire end of the conversation, and my tweets went as well (I guess that means I was blocked).
Imagine that, doing something for your community is an activity that should be relegated to those people who are being punished. Perhaps this is the truth about the soul of our communities, and why liberal areas tend to lack it. Doing community service is a punishment? Well I would rather bestow benefits upon people willing to contribute to their community, than give it to those who do not. And besides, who can take away the fact that people will feel better once they get into a productive groove; perhaps they will put their rear-into-gear afterward and go look for that next job with some new skills; perhaps they won’t sit around and feel sorry for themselves, but feel a sense of accomplishment for having achieved something, and that may just be the push they need to go out the door and apply. I used to get into arguments with my high school history teacher, Mr. Lubenetski, about FDR’s New Deal and whether or not it ended the Great Depression. He would say to me, looking exactly like Teddy Roosevelt (he did, red hair, mustache, glasses and all) and explode with his booming voice, “it may not have brought people all the way up to their feet, but it kept them off their knees!” If we are going to pay people who lost work, I say we put them back to work, because you may not be able to measure the benefit of doing so, but a man’s pride can carry him further than his pouting ever will.
-rj
Profiles in Courage in Georgia
Originally published at The Daily Caller.
I was recently speaking with one of my teachers from high school, reflecting on her summer reading assignment, JFK’s Profiles in Courage. If you have never read the book, it can be summarized quite simply in that it follows the actions of statesmen throughout the history of our country which took serious resolve and unwavering confidence. That’s not to say that these individuals who were profiled did not face fear in their hearts, fear for their jobs, and possibly fear for their lives. Fear is an emotion and it is understandable to have felt such emotion being placed in the situations that these men were embroiled.
Emotions however are not actions, and actions are not words. Words are funny things. They form sentences and go on to form speeches. Speeches stir emotions and cause people to talk about issues. Sometimes this causes people to become involved and take action, which is good. However the difference between words and actions is that a word may or may not cause an action, while an action will always be the process of doing. And the men of Kennedy’s most renowned work were doers.
In February of this year, my Congressman, John Linder, announced his retirement from public office. I’ve always liked Mr. Linder even though I was turned down for a position at his state office when I was 20 and looking for work while in college. It has always given me a sense of pride for some reason that my congressman introduced the Fair Tax legislation, even though I obviously had nothing to do with it. So now Linder will take his leave, and Georgia’s 7th District looks for new leadership. The heart of the 7th is Gwinnett County, a suburb of Atlanta, home of the Tripple-A Gwinnett Braves and 800,000 of your closest friends (except during rush hour). The district also contains other metro counties including Forsyth, Barrow, Newton, and Walton.
The district will be won by a Republican. That’s not a prediction, it is a statement.
So the question many are asking in the 7th at this moment is, “Who can be as good as Linder?” That’s the wrong question. Let’s ask who can be better than Linder. And that’s not a knock on Linder. That’s simply American to raise the bar and our expectations of our leaders. And to Linder’s credit, he set the bar rather high.
In the past months we’ve seen a lot of candidates in the 7th. Some have come late and some have gone early. Some even left the race to return to houses of waffles only to wind back up in state politics. There are many candidates for the seventh. Most of them have words. Some of them have even had years of career political words.
There is one candidate, however, who is a candidate of action and most certainly can raise the bar.
Some of you will recognize the name Jody Hice from The Jody Hice Show, a nationally syndicated talk show featured on over 400 stations across the country. Others of you will recognize the name from his courageous battle with the American Civil Liberties Union. Several years ago, the ACLU journeyed to Georgia to force the Ten Commandments out of the Barrow County courthouse. Jody formed an organization which raised money to fund the county’s defense, standing toe to toe against one of the most anti-American institutions of the last hundred years.
Ultimately, this fight against the ACLU later led to legislation that was passed in Georgia allowing the display of the Ten Commandments in front of government buildings as long as it was displayed in historical context along with the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
In the Fall of 2008, Dr. Hice stood with 33 other pastors across the country to challenge an IRS code that strips pastors of their right to freedom of speech by way of threatening the removal of the tax-exemption status of the churches they pastor. Get this: He mailed a copy of his speech to the IRS daring them to come after him. They didn’t. Probably a good decision on their part.
Earlier this year in January, Hice decided to step down from the pulpit. He felt strongly that his current call was in defense of his nation and he had determined that he would make a bigger push with his radio show. Now before dollars start clouding your vision, understand that Hice is not paid to run his radio program. He stepped down from a paying gig in order to do a non-paying gig full time having no idea how he would support his family all for the sake of restoring the Republic. Take a second with that in this economy. Don’t brush over that fact.
In March of this year Hice was approached and recruited to run for Congress and was made aware he could retain his radio show while representing the people of Georgia. So Hice accepted being tapped to run.
In case you didn’t catch that, I’ll write it again. The Jody Hice Show will be retained in some fashion even if Dr. Hice is elected to Congress.
Hice will be the only member in Congress who can walk out the door of the assembly chamber and walk into a radio station and sit there and tell you exactly what is going on in your government. We aren’t talking about members of Congress getting 30 seconds here and there on your favorite news network. We are talking about a radio show of several hours for a Representative to sit down and hash out with the public what is actually happening in the chamber.
That’s political Direct Media at its finest.
In the coming weeks, individuals will begin to pull levers here in Georgia during early voting leading up to the 20th of July. The vote will be of vital importance for the second most populated district in Georgia.
I have personally endorsed Dr. Jody Hice. And in full transparency so has ConservativeCongress.com, a conservative candidate evaluation platform of which I am a co-founder. But that group has also endorsed other candidates in the district who met organizational criteria as well. I was not paid to write this, I don’t work for Hice, and I have not donated to any primary campaign. Rules of which all members of ConservativeCongress.com agreed to abide by at the projects onset.
The simple truth is that I am of the conviction that actions speak louder than words. And the profiles in courage of Dr. Jody Hice putting his feet to the fire speaks for itself as the representative leadership that we need in Washington, D.C.
Something More Than Glory-Senator Bunning’s Heroic Stand Against Socialism
In an article published this morning, The Washington Post accuses retiring Senator Jim Bunning of “his fellow Republicans hostage” as “He stood his ground, angry and alone, a one-man blockade against unemployment benefits, Medicare payments to doctors, satellite TV to rural Americans and paychecks to highway workers” thereby imperilling “jobless benefits for millions”. While advocates of centralized government will continue to condemn Bunning’s actions as unnethical, the heroics displayed in his unwavering loyalty to principle–even in the face of opposition from those within his own party–provide an example for all would be conservative champions. True leadership requires courageous actions that are, more often than not, unpopular. As Senator Scott Brown correctly explained, “I don’t think it’s about party, it’s about good government … if it takes one guy to get up and make a stand … I think that speaks for itself.”
Visit ConservativeCongress.com
Today thelobbyist soft launched Conservative Congress. This website will be replacing campaignlobbyist.net. Our resources were really spread too thin to cover campaigns and elections via blogging. So we decided to do something more difficult…. review every candidate in every district in America based on a Issues Statement platform that 5 members of the project from varying conservative ideologies agreed defined “true” conservatism.
So today we soft launched. The site is up and working in full, but we are still gathering data from various candidates who have not returned their questionnaire. Right now we have information on candidates for Primary Elections taking place over the next 90 days (i.e. through May). We will always strive to maintain this time line of always being 90 days ahead of primaries giving voters a chance to take a hard look at their candidates.
What we’re doing? In a nut shell we’ve researched a candidate based on our platform. If he aligns himself or herself fully with our Issues Statement we recommend them to the voter. Bare in mind if multiple candidates in a district meet all our criteria, we recommend both candidates as individuals that are truly conservative. We leave it up to the voter to determine their opinion on character, local standing, etc.
For full transparency we have included all our research in our Research page. There you can select your state and see where a candidate in your district may have fallen short, or on what issue they have not answered our questions.
You can follow updates for Conservative Congress @ConsrvCongress. We also have a Facebook fan page and our home page is constantly streaming the most recent campaigns and election coverage from the top conservative websites and blogs on the net.
Finally, and dearest to my heart is our Conservative Congress Forums. They are simple and elegant in form and provide an easy way for you to get active in debate and discourse on the campaigns and primary elections in your area!
We hope you enjoy the new site!
Yours in Conservatism,
Nick R. Brown
The Principled Pragmatist-Palin’s Advice to The Tea Party
In an interview with Fox News, Sarah Palin suggested that the Tea Party “take over the Republican Party … Get them to see the light.” While such a statement carries a certain air of hypocrisy considering Palin’s endorsement of Senator John Mc’Cain over his far more conservative rivals, its inherent wisdom should not be overlooked.
The two-party division that dominates our political world was born only years after the ratification of The Constitution. The Federalist Party, led by Alexander Hamilton, propounded a larger Federal Government that took a more expansive role in the lives of its citizens. Ironically, it was the Democratic Party, led by Thomas Jefferson, that opposed the expansion of the Federal Government, and insisted, rather, that social programs and regulations be left to the control of state governments. While the modern political parties have swapped ideologies, the classical alignment still exists, though, perhaps, somewhat muddled in the minds of individual americans. It is that confusion–the ignorance of fundamental principles–that is to blame for today’s bloated expansion of the Federal Government. Unable to articulate what they believe, modern conservatives, or those who would have allied themselves with the Democrats (or classical liberals) of Jefferson’s day, have, for over eighty years, found themselves voting into office leaders who have actually succeeded in increasing, rather than decreasing the size of the Federal Government. The claim that there exists little difference between Democrats and Republicans is far more axiomatic than many realize. The ideology of Jefferson’s Democratic party–the belief that the Federal Government should be limited to the express powers dictated by the Constitution and that social programs and regulations should be left to state governments–has all but disappeared from the political arena. However, in an age were information is readily accessible, where the average american, by and through the aid of libraries and the internet, can obtain an education far superior to that offered by the university, Jefferson’s voice is heard once more in the mouth of the Tea Party.
As the Tea Party seeks to restore the principles of limited government, it has found its closest allies within the Republican Party. And while many Republicans still believe in the expansion of the Federal Government, the movement would be wise to stay the course, and focus on reforming the party from within, rather than rejecting it from without. Of course, when forced to decide between loyalty to party or loyalty to principle, the movement must remain true, even if it requires voting Democrat or Independent over Republican.
Standing For Something-Why Bipartisan Politics Are Bad For America
Bloomberg reports that “President Barack Obama began yesterday’s health-care summit saying he wanted to find bipartisan ways to fix the health-care system.” But, “By the end, he said he might be left with a partisan path forward.” In other words, President Obama and the Democratic Party may be ready to concede bipartisan defeat, as increasing pressure from Conservatives forces Republican leaders to, once and for all, declare their ideological allegiance. It seems that it is no longer enough to simply smile and kiss babies. The modern politician must believe in something, and vote accordingly. As Glenn Greenwald, a columnist for Salon explains, “[o]ne of the strangest prongs of conventional Beltway wisdom is the lament that there is not enough bipartisanship. The opposite is true: many of the most damaging acts inflicted on the country by Washington are enacted on a fully bipartisan basis.” Politicians must accept that they will disagree with their colleagues. Oftentimes, such disagreements will be irreconcilable, as differences in principle are bound to produce differences in opinion. However, disagreement is not destructive. Rather, it encourages intellectual discussion and debate, and, by forcing politicians to stand firm in their convictions, provides an opportunity for true leaders to prove themselves worthy of their elected office.
National Journal’s Ideological Rankings
See them here.
The 10 Most Liberal Senate Dems Most Conservative Senate GOPers
1. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) 1. Jim Inhofe (R-OK)
1. Roland Burris (D-IL) 2. Jim DeMint (R-SC)
1. Ben Cardin (D-MD) 3. Jim Bunning (R-KY)
1. Jack Reed (D-RI) 4. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
1. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) 5. Jim Risch (R-ID)
6. John Kerry (D-MA) 6. John Thune (R-SD)
6. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) 7. John Ensign (R-NV)
8. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) 8. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
9. Chris Dodd (D-CT) 9. Richard Burr (R-NC)
9. Dick Durbin (D-IL) 10. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
The 10 Most Liberal House Dems Most Conservative House GOPers
1. Rush Holt (D-NJ) 1. Trent Franks (R-AZ)
1. Gwen Moore (D-WI) 1. Doug Lamborn (R-CO)
1. John Olver (D-MA) 1. Randy Neugebaurer (R-TX)
1. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) 1. Pete Olson (R-TX)
1. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) 1. John Shadegg (R-AZ)
1. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) 1. Mac Thornberry (R-TX)
1. Mel Watt (D-NC) 7. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
1. Henry Waxman (D-CA) 8. Mike Pence (R-IN)
9. Kathy Castor (D-FL) 9. Steve King (R-IA)
10. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) 9. Tom McClintock (R-CA)
The 10 In The Middle In The Middle Of The House
(Most liberal to Most conserv.) (Most liberal to Most conserv.)
46. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) 213. Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
47. Robert Byrd (D-WV) 214. Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL)
48. Bob Casey (D-PA) 215. John Adler (D-NJ)
49. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) 216. Bill Foster (D-IL)
50. Mark Pryor (D-AR) 217. Michael McMahon (D-NY)
51. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) 218. Michael Arcuri (D-NY)
52. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) 219. John Tanner (D-TN)
53. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) 220. Scott Murphy (D-NY)
54. Jim Webb (D-VA) 221. Tim Holden (D-PA)
55. Russ Feingold (D-WI) 222. Zack Space (D-OH)
Most Liberal House Delegations Most Conservative Delegations
1. MA 1. ID
2. HI 2. KY
3. VT 3. SC
4. CT 4. TX
5. RI 5. GA
For complete results, methodologies and more lists — including the 2 members of the Senate from different parties who have the exact same score — check out the vote rankings at NationalJournal.com.
Update II: Many comments wonder where Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) is on our list of most conservative House members. Paul has conservative vote rankings in the economic category (85%) and the social category (73%), but his votes on foreign policy are much more centrist (53% conservative). That makes him the 140th-most conservative member in the House.
I’m surprised Coburn is so far back, and that Feingold is almost exactly in the middle, but other than that the rankings make sense.
I was told by a guy on the Hill that Feinstein is the only senator pulled to the left by his/her constituents- that she’s actually a moderate. I found that interesting, but it explains her support for the president’s decision to send troops to Afghanistan.
Misguided Minstrels–Keillor and Schwartzenegger Criticize Conservatives
On Tuesday, writer and talk show host Garrison Keillor criticized the hypocrisy inherit in the idolization of leaders who talk the small government talk, while simultaneously increasing the size of the federal government. “Look at the recent powwow of the conservative choir in Washington. Their goal is to reduce government to where it was in Coolidge’s time. They are sticking to this, though their presidents, Reagan and Bush II, only succeeded in enlarging government.” Later that night, Arnold Schwartzenegger, Governator of California, added insult to empirical injury, criticizing conservatives for “not going anywhere …” and concluding that, “in the end, when the economy comes back … the tea party will disappear …” As wonderful as Gary’s writing and Arnie’s acting truly are, their analytical reasoning leaves much to be desired. Conservatism is the most coherent and orderly political ideology ever conceived. At its heart, it is purely pragmatic, seeking the highest quality of life for the greatest number of individuals possible while, at the same time, cultivating ingenuity and creativity by allowing for the greatest degree of personal liberty. To accomplish that end, it requires fealty to the republican tenets of the Constitution, namely, a Federal Government limited, almost entirely, to national defense, and deference to state and local government for the administration of social programs and corporate oversight. And, while many modern politicians, including Reagan and Bush, have ultimately failed to implement conservative policies, that does nothing to undermine or defeat the cause. Rather, such failure is responsible for the the large influx of converts to the conservative movement. Contrary to Governor Schwartzenegger’s prediction, this tea party has just begun.
Dividing Lines-The Aftermath of Brown’s Stimulus Vote, Jeb Bush on Charlie Crist’s Socialist Policies
In an article published this morning, The Washington Post details the political backlash against Senator Scott Brown’s (R-MA) decision to vote for increased stimulus spending in the form of the ‘jobs bill’.
A month after being crowned the darling of national conservatives, Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts is being branded “Benedict Brown” for siding with Democrats in favor of a jobs bill endorsed by the Obama administration.
However, according to the Post,
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky wasn’t particularly perturbed about Brown’s vote, saying his election last month has “made a huge, positive difference for us and for the whole legislative agenda.
In other news, Politico reports that Jeb Bush has openly condemned his successor, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, and his decision to support last year’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. A bold move, considering that Bush’s own brother was responsible for signing The Economic Stimulus Act of the previous year into law. “”I know I’m supposed to be politically correct and I said I was neutral and all that,” Bush said, but added of Crist’s move: “I got a problem with that.” While the former governor called Crist “about the nicest guy I’ve ever met in politics,” Bush called Crist’s support for the stimulus bill a critical “mistake.”” Bush’s words provide a superb example of both diplomacy and leadership, and a sharp contrast to McConnell’s slippery appeal to party politics.
While some may question the significance of drawing fine lines in the political sand, it is nevertheless of the utmost importance that we stand firm on those principles necessary to our country’s success and survival. Any and all votes for federal stimulus and subsidies, the expansion of federal social programs, and increases in federal regulation of private enterprises must be strongly opposed regardless of their source.
However, it is also important that we distinguish between sin and sinner. Although All proponents of socialist legislation, whether Republican or Democrat–Scott Brown or Barack Obama–inhibit progress through their acts, there is no reason why we must question their intentions. Nevertheless, playing nice does not require that we cease to play, but rather, that we play with grace and style. Kindness is not Compromise.
