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.

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!

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.

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!

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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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.

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.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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.

The question remains, regardless of what most Americans believe or don’t believe, what are the realistic options regarding this war? Is a pullout, or as Democrats like to phrase it, a phased redeployment, actually a viable option? What can be expected if we do pull out? I think there are a couple of obvious answers that cannot be easily swept away.

First, American credibility will be decimated for the foreseeable future, regardless of who controls Congress or the White House. We have already had too many instances where we did not follow through with our commitments and the world already suspects that we cannot be depended upon to do what we say we will do. Perhaps that is a consequence of our form of government, although historically we had a much better reputation. From here on out we will not be able to gain allies in any serious international endeavor because the world will now that when it gets tough we bail out.

As serious as such a consequence may be, it is not as serious as the second difficulty with the redeployment strategy. As noted above, much of the world already expects that when it gets really tough the US will run. Indeed, Osama bin Laden said as much following our exodus from Somalia and that has been the stated strategy of Islamic fascists the world over. They know they cannot beat the US in a military sense. So their strategy has been to make it too costly to continue to engage them. They understand that the longer they drag this out the less support the President will have at home and, eventually, that support will dry up and he will have little choice but to withdraw.

So what happens then? The Islamic fascists declare their victory over America to start with. And as much as politicians may want to deny it, the claim will be valid. And with that victory will come an incredible increase in the ability of the Islamic fascists to recruit. Their approach will have been fully validated and new recruits will flood in in numbers never before imagined.

And who will be running this new army of Islamic terrorists? Probably Iran. And since we already know what Iran’s goals are, it will not be surprising if shortly thereafter the incidents of terrorism in Israel increase dramatically. Of course, Israel will only be the next step, not the last step. The Islamic fascists refer to Israel as the little Satan. Great Satan is reserved for the US. And if you labor under the false belief that they will change that view if we pull out of Iraq, lets just dispel that right now. Make no mistake, They WILL come after us here on American soil and their goals will far exceed 9/11.

While many Americans have fallen for the ridiculous assertion that Iraq has been a distraction from the war on terrorism, nothing could be further from the truth. Whatever you may believe about the start of the war, whether justified or not, the Islamic fascist themselves claim that Iraq is now the central front in that war. Anything short of complete and total victory there will be disastrous for the US and the world.

I am not the best prognosticator around and I don’t claim to have any sort of crystal ball. But I know this much, the troop increase that President Bush is starting to implement is, at worst, the minimum required at this moment. Regular readers will know that I am not a Bush cheerleader. He has often disappointed me because he is not a conservative. But he is the Commander in Chief and he is the only person in the world who is capable of waging this war, a war that absolutely must be waged. I don’t know if Bush will use these additional troops in an effective way. My gut instinct is that he won’t because America simply does not have the stomach to do what needs to be done. Still, the alternative to adding troops is far worse.

I urge all Americans who value freedom to support the President now. I’m not asking you to like him or approve of his overall job as President. I don’t approve of his overall performance. But he, our troops and the world need us to stand as one and win this conflict. The consequences of failure are simply too dreadful to contemplate.

It has been painfully clear to me for some time that the Democrats do not oppose the President’s ideas per se. What they really oppose is any possibility of a Bush success. The Democrats would rather lose the war in Iraq than allow a Bush victory there. They apparently believe they can deal with the mess later and if they can’t, they can blame in on Republicans. It’s all about winning the White House in ‘08.

This is an extremely short sighted view. I certainly understand either party pulling out the stops to win the White House. But are there no stops that should remain? How far is too far to go in the name winning power? It’s been often said that in times past politics stopped at the water’s edge but those days are long behind us.

The reality is, we are not engaged in a battle for control of the US government. We are engaged in a war for the very survival of western civilization. What I cannot understand is why Democrats can’t grasp that fact. It’s not just that losing in Iraq would be damaging to American prestige around the world, although it would. It’s not just that losing in Iraq will strengthen Iran, even though it will. The reality is this. If we don’t “do what is required” to defeat Islamic fascism our very existence as a free society will be in jeopardy.

There have been plenty of mistakes in Iraq. I have believed almost from the beginning that we needed more troops there. Regular readers know that I am not a big Bush supporter. He has made mistakes. But he, at least, seems to grasp the ramifications of a US lose in Iraq. He understands that we face, perhaps, the most dangerous, insidious enemy we have ever faced as a nation and as a civilization.

President Bush has my support in increasing troop strength in Iraq by twenty thousand and I say increase it even more if necessary. As Churchill said, sometimes is is not enough to do our best. Sometimes we must do what is required, regardless of the cost. Our forbears understood that and they did what was required. Are we willing to do the same today. Is freedom worth fighting and dying for? I say it is.

While there are some good measures included, like earmark reform. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see if they are serious about that. One measure of particular concern, masked as ethics reform, is legislation called lobbying reform. While there my be some actually lobbying reform in the legislation, it will impose vast restrictions and reporting requirements on grassroots organizations. It amounts to an attack on the First Amendment rights of free speech and the right to petition the government.

No one should be surprised that Congress would be willing to assault the First Amendment this way. McCain-Feingold was a direct attack on free speech, yet Congress passed it and President Bush signed it. Unlike McCain Feingold which needed to be pumped up to generate interest among the electorate, the lobbying scandals and apparent corruption in Congress make this almost a slam dunk. The problem, as pointed out at Opinion Journal.com, is that this approach is backward.

As for the bad, most of the rest of these “reforms” are about controlling the lobbyists, not the Members, which gets it exactly backward. Putting restrictions on the right of citizens to petition government is a strange way of handling ethically challenged politicians. If a Member can be bought with a free lunch or skybox ticket from a lobbyist, he shouldn’t be in Congress anyway. And even as they’re forgoing lunch, the Members will still be telling corporate lobbyists they’d better ante up that PAC money, or else.

This is precisely the rational behind McCain-Feingold. John McCain was caught up in the Keating Five scandal which involved corruption of members of Congress so his approach was to restrict the public rather than those who were actually corrupt, including himself. Now we see it again. It has been said that those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. Nowhere is that truism better illustrated than in the present case.

There is, however, a more insidious side to this whole issue. It seems that the current legislation predominately affects only conservative organizations. Unions and corporations are exempt! From Rev. Lou Shelton of the Traditional Values Coalition,

The legislation being proposed by Speaker Pelosi and Public Citizen will seriously undermine free speech and place incredible time and financial burdens on small grassroots organizations, noted Rev. Sheldon. “It would require these groups to detail the organization’s expenditures in contacting the grassroots, the issues focused on, and the Members of Congress and other federal officials who are targeted for lobbying.

“This legislation is obviously a thinly veiled effort to hamstring only conservative groups. Why? Because it cleverly exempts trade unions and corporations from communicating with their members,” said Rev. Sheldon (emphasis in the original).

As Opinion Journal pointed out Democrats, for the most part, as doing what they campaigned on. Since they won the elections, we should expect them to do what they said they would do. But Opinion Journal also had this to say.

The country spoke loud and clear on behalf of Democrats last November, but we doubt this means it voted for everything on the party’s partisan wish list. Attempting to shove these measures through the House without allowing votes on amendments or alternatives isn’t the way a confident majority behaves. We guess this is why the Founders created the Senate.

Folks, there’s a lot more where this is coming from. Over the next several days I’ll be writing about various aspects of this 100 hour plan, much of it harmful to our economy and to our Constitution. Pelosi said she would “drain the Republican swamp’ in the first 100 hours but it looks like she wants to replace it with a sewer.

From what we’ve already seem we cannot expect Bush to whip out his veto pen with any sort of regularity. In fact, he will actively support much of the Democrat agenda! If you care about this country you need to make sure you are educated on the issues and you need to make you voice heard with your member of Congress, particularly if your member is a Democrat. They have the majority and that gives them the right to govern. But it does not give them the right to destroy it in the process. Only we can stop it!

“The country is sending a signal to both parties: We want you guys to
work together to solve problems. You’ve got Republicans running from
the far right much more toward the center. You’ve got a new breed of
Democrats this year in Jim Webb in Virginia and Bob Casey in
Pennsylvania, moving toward the center. So we may be working our way
toward the end of a deeply polarized country politically at the
national level.”

– Former anchor Tom Brokaw on NBC Nightly News November 6, election eve.

“Will Republicans move further to the right? Not if they got the
message of the election. Republicans lost because they abandoned the center.”

– CNN’s Bill Schneider on The Situation Room, Nov. 8.

Democrats would have us believe that conservatism is responsible for Republican losses. Their view is, of course, the precise opposite of what actually happened and what elected Republicans need to take away from the election. It is precisely the fact that, for the most part, House and Senate Republicans abandoned conservative principles for most of the last several years that they got their butts handed to them.

Geraldo Rivera, always good for a laugh, had this to say:

The Democratic wave that washed over American politics last night
washed away Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and swamped many Republicans
who tried to use the issue of illegal immigration to scare people
into voting for them. I am delighted to say that they got their butts kicked.

Yes, Geraldo is the guy to listen too. Yeah right! The fact is, House Republicans moved to the right too late to matter. Yes, they saved us temporarily from comprehensive immigration reform. Had they stuck with conservative principles throughout their terms, immigration would be a solved issue now, not the next object of demagoguery.

Republicans win when they run on conservative principles. Republicans maintain their seats when they govern from conservative principles. This tripe that the country has moved to the middle is seriously deluded! How can anyone reach such a conclusion based on three consecutive split elections? In fact, the only reason this election was split was that House Republicans spent the last few years trying to out spend Democrats!

If Republicans want to retake the House and Senate in ‘08 as well as retain the White House, they had better listen to their conservative constituents. They had better learn that conservatism is alive and kicking and they can’t win without it.

‘08 is a long way off. I don’t know about you but I’m not prepared to spend two years in campaign mode. While the ‘08 elections are important, there is little any of us can do today to impact them. But there are many other issues to be looked at and dealt with in the mean time.

For one thing, with dems in control of the Senate we know right off that judicial appointments will be far more difficult for President Bush. It is likely that there will be one more vacancy on the Supreme Court in the next two years and I expect the President to avoid judicial activists and appoint someone who will strictly interpret the Constitution rather than superimpose his/her own ideology on it. That will, of course, mean a battle. It will be difficult to even get such a nominee through the Senate Judiciary Committee. We need to be prepared for that fight because it is likely to be coming. Even for normal appointments to the federal bench there will be much difficulty.

Comprehensive immigration reform now seems much more likely. Conservatives oppose reforms so far offered and those are just the kinds of reforms that will be offered again. Amnesty, by what ever name, will sail through both Houses of Congress and the President is likely to sign such legislation. Unless we are prepared with strong grassroots efforts to stop it, it will be a slam dunk.

Future Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indicated the raising the minimum wage will be a top priority. Few issues have been subject to such demagoguery than the minimum wage. And few issues are so poorly understood by the electorate. We know that any significant increase in the minimum wage will have two effects. First, it will increase unemployment for those at the bottom of the wage scale. Second, it will further slow the economy when it has already been slowed too much by aggressive fed interest rate policy. If Democrats are not checked, we will likely be headed into a new recession. That might be good for Republican prospects in ‘08 but it isn’t good for the American people and only strong grassroots efforts can stop it.

The biggest and by far most important issue is the war with Islamic fascism. To date, Democrats have appeared not to take it seriously, preferring to handle terrorist events through law enforcement. If dems truly believe what they’ve preached, they will work diligently to get us out of this war and hunkered down back home. If that should happen, we will see many more 9/11 style attacks on the US. Again, this may be good for Republican prospects in ‘08 but it is decidedly bad for American and we have to do whatever we can to prevent such an eventuality.

It is incumbent on all of us to communicate with our members of Congress and let them know that we will not sit back and allow them to make America vulnerable. Most conservatives I know have a pretty good understanding of the enemy we face. It is an enemy that only understands strength and weakness. It is an enemy that will interpret any move by the US to withdraw as a sign that our will is failing us and that will embolden them. Indeed, they are already taking credit for the Republican defeat and for Rumsfeld’s resignation. In the coming days look for the Islamic fascists to move aggressively to increase and consolidate the power this election has given them.

We face dark and dangerous days ahead. We must face them with resolve and determination. I believe that all of civilization is threatened and we must face that threat head on and unified. To this point we have been anything but unified. I desperately hope that it will not take a few more 9/11 style attacks to convince the electorate that we cannot win unless we are united.

We will face these and other issues over the next two years. All of us must work to educate ourselves. No one is going to come to us and teach us what the truth is on any of these issues. The one thing you can count on politicians to do is demagogue the issues. Even the best of them is driven by elections and they are motivated to do and say what they think is necessary to be reelected. If we want to know the truth we have to do the work to discover it. We have to research the issues. We have to educate ourselves so we understand what is at stake and so we can, in turn, work to educate others. I’ve always believed that truth ultimately prevails over lies and deceit but that can only be true when people know the truth.

In wards 7, 19, 51 in Philly, PA, the crowds are going wild. Inside several voting locations, individuals have poured white out onto the polling books and the poll workers are allowing voters to go into the polls and vote without first registering. Several individuals are on hand demanding that voters vote straight Democrat.

RNC lawyers have headed to the scene of the incidents, which are occurring in mostly Hispanic precinct locations. The District Attorney has also been contacted.

(more)

I have no independent confirmation and haven’t seen anything on the news about this yet. Stay tuned for updates.

UPDATE: I’ve searched every news source I can find and have been unable to find any confirmation for this story.  The only mentions I do find all source back to redstate.com so no help there.  My instinct tells me that if the report was true, it would be fairly widely reported by now.  The bottom line is, I cannot confirm the validity of this story and until it can be conformed it must be considered no better than rumor.

For the next couple of hours I will be unable to follow up on this story.  Please check other sources until later today.

UPDATE II:  Here is a story from CBS3 News in Philadelphia that seems to corroborate the original story.  I am still unable to find ANY other mention of this on MSM sites.

It never ceases to amaze me how liberals can at once accuse the president of being stupid, dumb, illiterate, and a whole host of other descriptions indicating his lack of intelligence while simultaneously giving him credit from some of the best planning and strategy anyone has ever seen in orchestrating all the events they claim he is responsible for. How can an idiot be so successful at thwarting Democrat plans? And if Bush is indeed and idiot, what does that say about Democrats and their inability to defeat him in general?

The list of events liberals believe George Bush orchestrated to raise his standing and hurt Democrat prospects is impressive indeed. A Google search for the term “Bush orchestrated” turns up all of the following.

• the 9/11 attacks
• the Katrina disaster
• the Valerie Plame affair
• the story of the interdiction of an Islamic plot to blow up airliners en route to the US to raise his approval ratings
• lower gas prices prior to this election

Given sufficient I have no doubt the list could grow larger than the totality of this blog. Nevertheless, the point is made that liberals have given George Bush tremendous credit for planning and implementing some pretty big conspiracies. Yet at the same time they never tire of telling us just how simple minded, how stupid Bush is. Once again, a simple Google search for the term “Bush is an idiot” turns up 3,130,000 hits.

Whether or not the Hussein verdict will have any impact on the election remains to be seen. My own feeling is that if there is an effect, it will be so small as to be immeasurable. But Democrats love a conspiracy and they particularly love an excuse. And make no mistake, this charge of Bush involvement in the timing of the Hussein verdict is all about Democrats having an excuse if they don’t prevail on Tuesday. As Eric Hoffer put it in The Passionate State of Mind:

There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still have to prove our worth anew each day; we have to prove that we are as good today as we were yesterday. But when we have a valid alibi for not achieving anything we are fixed, so to speak, for life.

The fact is, Bush is no idiot. If Democrats actually paid attention instead of looking for excuses they’d understand that. In the present case, not only have the accused him of orchestrating the verdict to be announced today, they also lament the fact that he has no control over the Iraqi government in general and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in particular. So once again, the Democrat schizophrenia is manifested with diametrically opposed positions regarding Bush.

The sad fact is, most liberals hate the military. They hate everything about the military. They hate the very idea of a military. They see soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines as subhuman and evil. John Kerry merely put in words what most liberals have believed for decades. All you have to do is read the moonbat blogs to see this is true. For example, Pamela Leavey at The Democratic Daily had this to say (H/T ALa at blonde sagacity):

Talk about speaking the stark truth to students who want more out of life. The education system in California is a mess, especially in L.A. County. Each day I pick my daughter up at school I see the recruiters leaving, smiling because they have snagged another kid who’s trapped by the system and sees no future other than enlisting. It shouldn’t be like this. A 50% drop out rate is unacceptable. What is the bottom line for these kids, a job at McDonald’s or Iraq. Kudos to Kerry for delivering a wake up call to the young voters at the rally (wingnuts are all wet on their claims).

Some will be tempted to read Leavey’s remarks and conclude that she is just some nut on the left, that no one takes her seriously. But nothing could be further from the truth. On the contrary, Leavey speaks for a growing majority of Democrats.

This is the choice we face next Tuesday. I am as disgruntled as anyone over the way Republicans in Congress have grown fat and happy, adopting many of they way their Democrat predecessor acted before them. But the fact is, there is still a difference. The Democrats still believe that military might is unimportant and, indeed, counterproductive. They believe there is no problem, no difficulty that cannot be solved through negotiation. They expect everyone in the world to respond to rational arguments. (This has always bemused me considering Democrats don’t respond to rational arguments.)

In five days we will go to the polls. While I still predict the Republicans will hold majorities in both houses, I am not so confident that I don’t think we need to work for it. If they do pull it off, my hope is they will have had something of a wakeup call in this close election. but even if they don’t, even if they continue spending like drunken sailors, we are still far better off as a country with them in charge as opposed to the Democrats. At least they get the idea of national security and fighting a war.