After the New Hampshire primary I got to thinking.  Everyone has their theories about what happened.  McCain much bigger than expected and Hillary won when Obama was supposed to win big.  What happened?

I think it was a combination of two things.  Remember in 2000, many Democrats crossed over to Republican primaries to vote for John McCain.  After all, he’s the Republican most palatable to Democrats (which ought to say something to Republicans, particularly conservatives).  I believe that a lot of Democrats who supported Obama were convinced Obama had it wrapped up so they crossed over to the Republican primary to vote for McCain.  That explains both unexpected results.

But I think there was something else in play and that was Hillary’s little crying spell.  There was plenty of speculation on the right that her little emotional outburst would hurt her.  I mean, who wants a chief executive and commander in chief who is ruled by emotions?  Apparently the answer to that question is many Democrats.  Hillary’s emotional outburst brought a lot of Democrats over to her side which, to me, is just frightening.

Can anyone imagine Margaret Thatcher having a similar emotional outburst in public?  I certainly can’t and had she ever done so her political career would have been over.  Would we want an emotional outburst in the middle of delicate negotiations with a hostile foreign government when things weren’t going well?  Would that be beneficial to us?

Some might say that Hillary wouldn’t do that in such a situation?  Perhaps but if true that means that she reserves such outbursts for when they are beneficial.  The implication is she judged that an emotional outburst was called for in that case.

I remember an episode of Star Trek where Captain Kirk accused Mr. Spock of having an emotional outburst.  Spock’s response was that his actions had been logical.  The situation was clearly desperate so desperate action was called for.  Either that applies to Mrs. Clinton which makes it pure manipulation or she can’t be trusted to remain cool under pressure.  Either case is unpleasant.

But in the end the really frightening part is that Democrats want that sort of thing in their president.

Happy New Year to you all.  It’s 2008, election year.  Last year saw this blog really slow down in terms of posts.  I hope to change that this year with the primaries looming and the elections in November.  I even got a little flack from my dad today for my lack of posting.  So I’m going to try to pick up the pace a little, starting with the Iowa caucus coming up on Thursday.

It’s going to be an interesting years.  Who will win the White House?  Will the Democrats expand their margin in Congress or will the Republicans be able to capitalize on the missteps of a lack luster Democrat Congress?  These an other questions will be addressed in the weeks and months ahead.  I hope you’ll come along for the ride and maybe even participate rather than just read what I have to say.

It has always been my goal to stimulate conversation and discussion, not just get readers.  That’s why I have comments open, I want to hear what you think.  I’m open to Democrat opinions too, just don’t expect me to agree very often.  But I’m open to discussion.

As for the conservatives in the audience, we have to buckle down and get to work if we’re going to bring the Republican Party around to our way of thinking.  We have to support conservative candidates with our money and our energy.  Without that support we will have nothing to complain about when RINOs run the party and conservatives aren’t elected.  It’s up to us folks.

I’m looking forward to 2008.  I’m looking forward to following and blogging the primaries and the election.  It’s going to be a very interesting year!

Regular readers of this blog know that I am no fan of President Bush.  But the extent to which some on the left will go to Bash him is beyond ridiculous.  The fires in Southern California are a case in point.  While people are still losing their homes, the left is busy politicizing the situation.  Barbara Boxer took the opportunity to claim that because of the war in Iraq the California National Guard did not have enough equipment for the situation.  Not to be outdone, Lt. Governor John Garamendi complained about Bush’s visit in the midst of the crisis.  Asked by leftist moron Chris Matthews if Bush’s visit would distract from the firefighting efforts, Garamendi said it certainly would.  Of course, if Bush did not make a trip to California, he would most certainly have been castigated for that.  Oh, and don’t forget that the fires are the result of global warming which is also Bush’s fault.

As I said, I am not a fan of George Bush.  Other than judicial nominations and tax cuts, he has not impressed me much.  But the level of partisan attacks is simply amazing.  There are plenty of Democrats I dislike intensely but I cannot imagine going to such lengths to demonize them.  What makes Democrats so unable to act rationally when it comes to George Bush?  I know, they all think he stole the 2000 and 2004 elections but that cannot be all there is too it because it’s not just Bush they do this too.  Harry Reid and others tried it with Rush Limbaugh and got humiliated for their trouble.

I wonder how this country can possibly pull together and move forward as one nation with so many willing to go to such lengths to destroy others.  Hillary Clinton and Democrats in general love to bemoan the politics of personal destruction but the reality is they not only invented the strategy, they have elevated to an art form.  They are constantly assisted by their willing accomplices in the media, like Chris Matthews asking such an asinine question to Garamendo above.  And much of their rank and file seem to just eat it up.  There is never any shortage of moonbats willing to come out to prevent some conservative from speaking somewhere.  But you never see similar actions from the right.  Doesn’t this tell you something?

Whether you are a conservative or not you must admit that conservatives are far more rational.  We don’t go around making wild accusations and blaming liberals for everything from the sun rising to the rain falling.  And we don’t make any effort at all to silence those with whom we disagree.  We are perfectly content to debate the merits of our arguments.  Not so liberals.  They cannot tolerate dissenting opinions unless it is their dissenting opinion.

So if you are a liberal give this a little thought.  If your argument is superior, why can’t you let it stand in the arena of ideas?  If your ideas are better, why do you need to personally attack those who disagree with you rather than debate their arguments.  The only real reason anyone ever has far such actions is they don’t believe their arguments can prevail.  Otherwise why go to such lengths to silence or discredit your opponents?  Of course, lust for power might just enter in somewhere.

When I spoke to Mark May [sic-Mays], he and I thought this probably wouldn’t make much money-a letter, written by Democrat Senators, complaining about something…[T]he [final] bid [was] more than two million for this… Never did we think that this letter would bring money of this nature… I don’t know what we could do more important than helping to ensure that children of our fallen soldiers and police officers who have fallen in the line of duty have the opportunity for their children to have a good education.

These are the words of Senate Majority Leader “Dingy” Harry Reid. I cannot imagine the nerve required to actually take credit for the $4.2 million raised. Reid and the 41 Senators who signed the letter were challenged by Rush Limbaugh to individually match the winning bid, just as Limbaugh himself was doing. The winning bid ended up being $2.1 million so with Rush’s match the total was $4.3 million. Reid didn’t match a single cent! But the man still took credit for it. He has no shame!

Reid is following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Tom Daschle. You will recall that Daschle was continually shocked at anything conservatives did. You will also recall that Daschle received his walking papers from his constituents in 2004. Reid is on track to follow Daschle right out of office. Power Line Blog yesterday reported that Reid’s approval rating in Nevada is below President Bush’s and it appears to be falling.

Reid and his Democrat colleagues in Congress have yet to figure out that the American people are sick and tired of partisanship for the sake of partisanship. Even a poll on the DailyKOS asking the question, “Do you approve of the way Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is doing his job?” has Reid with 82% saying no with more than 15,000 responses as of 7:30 this evening.

I would not argue against partisanship when there is a clear difference on policy. But Congressional Democrats, lead by Reid and Pelosi, are determined to take any action to deny President Bush a victory if they can and it is taking a toll on them. Congressional approval ratings are consistently lower than President Bush’s, taking away the ability of the Democrats to point to Bush’s low ratings. Doing so focuses attention on their own even lower ratings.

Republicans, on the other hand, are benefiting right now. Whether you are agree with them or not, they appear to be taking principled positions rather than engaging in politics as usual like the Democrats. Should Democrats continue on their current path into the ‘08 elections it will present an opportunity to Republicans. Conventional wisdom says that Republicans will suffer more losses in the House and Senate in ‘08. That view is further bolstered by the fact that so many Republican incumbents in Congress have announced they will not seek reelection next year. Yet the environment is ripe for Republicans, if they can unify behind a conservative message and solid candidates, to spank the Democrats. Should that happen, it will impact the Presidential election as well. We are accustomed to candidates riding a presidential candidate’s coat tails but this time around it could conceivably be the other way around. This isn’t a prediction so much as it is a possible strategy if Republicans will only do it.

I’ve been a fan of jetBlue for some time.  They’ve driven the cost of commercial air travel down and that’s a good thing.  Like Wal-Mart, they’ve been a huge benefit to consumers.  But all that has changed for me now.

It seems that jetBlue is a sponsor of the yearly KOS convention.  You know, the web site that promotes views like the world would be better off without Tony Snow when he came up with cancer again.  Or how about promoting the idea that radical Islamic fascists have a right to attack US forces?  Or the Pope is a primate?  Or “better luck next time” when there was an assassination attempt on Vice President Dick Cheney?

jetBlue has had its problems and last year it nearly went belly up.  Still, I supported them because they benefited consumers.  Now, the new CEO has decided that the way to promote his airline is to get in bed with radical leftist web sites.  I think they’ve made a huge mistake.

Ford Motor Company has been sinking for over a year because of a boycott sponsored by the American Family Association due to Ford’s sponsorships of gay events.  But Ford is big enough to take it for a while.  JetBlue isn’t.  I can tell you that I will fly ANY airline except jetBlue.  There is no chance at all that I will spend my hard earned money with a company that actively supports such extremism.  And I think lots of other people will agree with me and vote with their wallets.

I’m not the sort to go after someone because they don’t agree with my views.  I’m a fan of Google, even though Google is clearly run by liberals.  But there is a line between holding differing opinions and promoting hate of the sort that DailyKos spews every day.  The DailyKos may be a very successful web site but that doesn’t change the fact that they are sickos who want to see America destroyed.  They don’t just hold a different opinion.  They want all those who disagree with them to die!  And they aren’t shy about saying so!  I don’t care how broad the exposure is, I could never ethically justify sponsoring such a web site just to advertise my product or company.  jetBlue clearly thinks it’s okay.  What do you think?

UPDATE:

Thanks to Jenn Sierra for tipping me to this update on billoreilly.com.  It seems that jetBlue has changed its position.  According to the article, jetBlue has a long history of supporting the troops.

So it appears that there is a happy ending to this one.  jetBlue has seem the error of its ways.  I suspect that the sponsorship was the result of a lack of knowledge of what the DailyKos actually is.  Now they know!

If I hear the phrase “under the bill” one more time regarding “comprehensive immigration reform” I think I will throw up. I was listening to Chertoff on Cavuto this afternoon and every time Cavuto brought up conservative objections, Chertoff’s response was “under the bill…” I’m convinced they are being intentionally obtuse. We’ve repeated over and over that we don’t trust the government to do what the bill says.

We’ve been down this road before and all the evidence says the government isn’t serious about controlling the border or doing anything about illegals already here except to give them a pass. Of course, that just creates more incentive for more illegals to cross the boarder the government has shown no interest in securing. So why on earth should we trust them when they tell us that “under the bill” this and that will happen.

Chertoff, et. al. know this full well. Lindsey Graham knows this. All of them know this. We’ve said it ad nauseum! They simply choose to ignore what we say and go on calling us bigots and talking about what the bill will do. The fact is, current law calls for a fence that isn’t getting built. Current law calls for border enforcement. There is no need for another law to do these things. Yet Bush, Chertoff and the rest have no interest in enforcing current law. So WHY SHOULD WE TRUST THEM to enforce a new law? There is simply no reason to trust them.

A common definition for insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result. The Bush administration and its lackeys in Congress apparently assume the electorate is insane. We should trust them to do the same thing they always done and expect them to actually enforce the law this time! I don’t think so.

I like the idea I heard on the Laura Ingraham show today. Lets just start calling them former, as in former Senator Lindsey Graham and former Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff. I’ve already started working to unseat Lindsey Graham and there is a groundswell against him in South Carolina.

So if you are tempted to buy this line the “under the bill” they will secure the border and there will be a fence and there are triggers, don’t you believe it. They have to earn our trust. If your friend lies to you, you might give them another chance. But if they lie to you repeatedly, it takes a long, sustained effort of earning trust before you will be willing to trust them again. The same is true of our government. Let’s all assume the state motto of Oklahoma: Show Me! The only way they can show me is to start enforcing the law now and sustain that effort for an extended period of time. Then and only then, come back and maybe we’ll talk. But until they do that, there is absolutely no reason to trust them.

 

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I can’t begin to describe my emotions upon hearing the collective stream of BS coming from the Senate Floor. Senator after Senator took the floor to describe their wonderful immigrant ancestors. The message was clear. All of us who oppose the rising tide of illegal immigrants remaining here legally are actually opposed to ALL immigration. We don’t understand what this country was built on. We are bigots and xenophobes.

Listening to Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter tell about his father and brother immigrating here was just wonderful. What an inspiring story. But what on Earth does it have to do with the situation at hand? Specter’s father and brother immigrated here legally. They came here, submitted to processing, filled out the paperwork and followed our immigration laws. They learned English and worked to assimilate into American society.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham did precisely the same thing last week. The video is below in this blog. He talked about a Hispanic guy in the Air Force that was an inspiration to him. Great! No problem! Does anyone believe that Hispanic man in the Air Force was an illegal alien? Did he sneak across our border and join the Air Force? Of course not. If he was an immigrant at all he was a legal immigrant.

This in contrast to the ever growing flood of illegal aliens crossing our borders. They are not interested in becoming Americans. They have no desire to learn English or assimilate into American society. Mostly they want to take advantage of the services offered here and send money back to their home countries. Did you know that one of the biggest aspects of the Mexican economy is money sent home from America? That’s certainly one reason the Mexican government has been so opposed to any effort on our part to do something about the border.

The Congress can’t seem to understand why the American public doesn’t trust them on this. Could it be that we have been here before? We were told we’d have border security with the immigration reform in the ’80s. Did we get it? Does 12-20 million illegal aliens in this country look like we got it?

Now, rather than engage in an honest debate, they prefer to lie about those of us who oppose this measure. They say we are bigots and xenophobes. They do not acknowledge that there is a difference between illegal and legal immigration. In short, they lie to support their position and, apparently, they believe that if they lie long enough we will buy the lie. Small wonder we don’t trust Congress!

If you guys in the Congress want to gain some credibility, stop trying to shove this sham of a bill down our throats and instead, ENFORCE OUR CURRENT LAWS!! If you do that consistently for a period of time, you might just build up a little credibility. But so long as you insist on playing politics with the American people, so long as they continue to lie and mischaracterize those of us who oppose their position, they have no credibility.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for them to change though. Graham, Specter, McCain and all the rest of the Republicans pushing so hard on this issue are not concerned with what we, the people they represent, think. They somehow think that doing this will enhance their future electability. As for Graham, I think he’s angling for the VP spot with McCain. The problem for Graham is, McCain doesn’t stand a chance of getting the nomination and Graham doesn’t stand a chance of keeping his Senate seat in ‘08. His political career as a Republican is all but over. He is already a lame duck and he is blind to the fact.

I can think of no better reason for resurrecting the issue of term limits. Career politicians are the biggest problem in this country. They are far less concerned with what is actually best for this country than they are about the next election. So long as power is the motivating factor, do not expect most of our elected officials to actually honor their promises and act in an ethical, principled manner.

I was on the phone with my father in Georgia last night. He’s been a big supporter of Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss. But Chambliss is one of those Republicans working so hard to sell out this country. My dad can’t believe it! I don’t know what all the backroom deals have been. I know President Bush is looking for a legacy in a lame duck presidency and who can imagine what he has promised to Republicans who toe the line on this.

Here’s what I do know. If Republicans allow this legislation to become law, the Republican party is finished for the foreseeable future. All of Harry Reid’s predictions of massive Democrat Gains in the Senate will come to pass. Nancy Pelosi will be Speaker of the House for the next ten years at least. Maybe a solid conservative like Fred Thompson will be able to pull out the White House, I don’t know. But I’d lay odds that we will again be saying President Clinton and that is a future I don’t relish.

Finally, if this legislation becomes law, the Democrat party will be the ultimate winner. The vast majority of the illegal aliens in this country are already indebted to Democrats for the services they currently receive. The Democrats will continue with their vote buying legislative agenda. It could be a generation or more before the Republican party can recover, if them. Why congressional Republicans can’t see that simple fact is quite beyond me.

President Bush, along with RINOs Lindsey Graham and John McCain and Democrat Ted Kennedy, have reached a “compromise” for comprehensive immigration reform. That phrase, “comprehensive immigration reform” is code for amnesty. President Bush announced that the plan does not grant amnesty but any bill that allows aliens currently in this country illegally to pay a fine and get on a “path to citizenship” or permanent residency is an amnesty bill.

Virtually no one likes this bill. Backers are reluctant to discuss specifics beyond saying illegals will have to pay a fine and return home for a period of time. It is unlikely that the return home will be enforced or, if enforced, that illegals will have to stay for any significant period of time. How do you track more the more than 12 million people? Maybe set up another inefficient federal agency? And a $5,000 fine is a price many around the world would gladly pay for legal entrance into the united states. Yet those who have not entered this country illegally don’t get any special treatment and path toward citizenship.

Additionally, the Z visa only requires the head of household to return to the home country. His family can stay and there is no real idea of just how long he might have to stay in his home country but one official said it could be as short as one day. Convince me that won’t encourage more illegal immigration! Only a fool could believe that tail.

While this compromise seems historic, it appears there is still an uphill battle. Both conservatives and liberals have problems with it. Conservatives, of course, oppose the amnesty aspect of the proposal. Liberals oppose the change in immigration standards away from uniting families and toward more emphasis on skills.

Still, there is great interest on both sides of the aisle for passing some kind of comprehensive immigration reform this year. With that attitude, it is all but certain that, without outside effort, this will become a reality in some form before it’s all over. Conservatives must stay in touch with their Senators and Congressmen and keep the pressure on. This must be stopped. Amnesty did not work 20 some odd years ago and it won’t work today.

For my money, the way to deal with illegals currently in this country is to make it so painful for companies to employee them that simply won’t take the risk. When illegals find they cannot find work and support their families, much less send money back home, they will go home voluntarily. If there is not reason to be here, why would the stay? The incentives to come here illegally must be removed. That, along with real border enforcement will solve our problem. Then and only then we can look at a guest worker program and at that point, those who can speak English will have an advantage, regardless of whether they were previously here illegally

Meanwhile, Fred Thompson said that the bill and the attempt to create any comprehensive immigration reform should be scrapped until the border is secured. YEAH! That’s a position I can really get behind.

Sorry but I stole that headline from Family Research Council. Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, has said the decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the federal partial birth abortion ban should have included O’Connor instead of Alito. The clear implication is that it would have been decided the other way under such circumstances. But Reid has repeatedly described himself as pro-life. Indeed, every time there has been an opportunity to vote on a partial birth abortion ban, Reid has voted in favor of. Reid, in fact, voted for the very law the Supreme Court ruled on in this case. So Reid apparently wants it both ways. He wants to go on record as support pro-life legislation but he doesn’t actually want such legislation to become law.

On another front, Reid again shot himself in the foot. This week at the National Press Club Reid said that the war in Iraq is lost.

So Reid believes that the war is lost and the the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State know this to be true. At the same time, Reid does not support withdrawing funding for the war. This is the height of hypocrisy and Harry Reid is on the verge of committing treason. Democrats in general have constantly engaged in activity that encourages our enemies for the purpose of consolidating political power. Now Reid has given considerable aid and comfort to our enemies by declaring that we have lost this war.

Harry Reid is either a moron or he is so consumed with political power that he will do and say anything to gain it. Either way he has no business being in the Senate. His constituents should do whatever it takes to replace him. Tom Daschle discovered that there was a price to pay for demagoguery and it is high time his replacement made the same discovery.

Rudy Giuliani has given conservatives more ammunition. In an interview on CNN Giuliani expressed his view of “strict constructionist” judges.

As you can see, Giuliani’s idea of strict constructionist doesn’t exactly match up with most conservatives. In his view, as with so many others on the court today, stare decisis trumps the Constitution! So bad law and bad jurisprudence should stand simply because it has been around a while?

If that view had prevailed in times past, separate but equal would still be the law of the land. The Dred Scott case would still be precedent! In my view, while stare decisis is important, it is not and should not be the final word.

Giuliani also stands by his positions on partial birth abortion and federal funding of abortions. He supports both. Oh he gives the standard, “I don’t like and want to see less of it” speech but the bottom line is, Giuliani supports all abortion at any time during pregnancy for any reason or no reason at all.

One is hard pressed to see how Giuliani can possibly get the Republican nomination with such views. Social conservatives are not likely to vote for him when they know his positions. While Giuliani has enjoyed an early lead, most voters haven’t really known where he stands on many issues. As more interviews like the one above are seen and read about by conservatives, Giuliani’s numbers will fall precipitously as conservatives realize that he is a social liberal. He does not stand a chance.