Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Goodbye, Farewell, So Long, See Ya, Bon Voyage, Aloha, Shalom, Adios, Peace Out: Senator Specter
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
GOP to Obama: Stop Apologizing for the U.S.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Justice Scalia on Constitutional Interpretation
Justice Scalia represents the conservative ideology of the Supreme Court and is a big proponent of judicial restraint, State sovereignty, and the original intent theory. Conservatives today should study the theories that Justice Scalia applies to his interpretations of the Constitution and strive to exemplify the same principles.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Immigration Reform: GOP Beware
On top of every other initiative, the economy, health care reform, two wars, etc, the Obama administration is also going to tackle immigration. This year! Reuters reports that Presidents Obama intends to begin the reform as early as May of this year and the plan calls for a "search for a path to legalize the status of millions of illegal immigrants." This sounds a lot like amnesty. The term 'amnesty' has become one of those words that is tossed around the political arena extensively, but no-one really knows what it means. In this context, and for the purpose of my argument, amnesty refers to actions taken by the government to make a large group of illegal immigrants American Citizens without the immigrants participating in the necessary steps to become legal. This is a thorny issue in regard to the GOP because past Republican administrations have attempted versions of amnesty, and it is difficult to determine how the electorate will respond to the action. There has been speculation that the issue of immigration reform is 'good' for Democrats and 'bad' for Republicans. This is a logical argument because Democrats are typically portrayed as having compassion on illegal immigrants and Republicans are seen as racist and as wanting to round-up all the illegals and deport them immediately. The Democrats want to use immigration reform to make them look good and to make the Republicans look bad.
The Democrats want to use immigration reform as a way to strengthen their electorate and strengthen their Hispanic base. Bob Shrum, a Democrat consultant argues my point for me in the following quote he made on Andrea Mitchell’s NBC News program regarding whether or not he thought President Obama would move on immigration reform, “I think they're going to move on immigration. I hope the Republicans fulminate against it because they'll get to the point where they won't get a single Hispanic vote. Go ahead and make my decade, turn
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Marriage: A Union Between a Woman and a Man
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The GOP's Top 10
You can read the article at:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/112252/GOP-Faithful-Like-Palin-Romney-Huckabee-2012.aspx
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Death Penalty: GOP's Chance to Speak-Up
Thursday, March 5, 2009
The Republicans Stayed Home
So why did John McCain lose? There are the obvious answers that most people attribute the loss to, like the economy, President Bush's image, Barack Obama's charisma, etc. My explanation, and of course I am not claiming to be the only one with this opinion, is that Republicans were simply not excited enough to go out and vote. Republicans made the fatal mistake of not promoting and making social issues a major focus of the election. George W. Bush in both of his campaigns was able to make social issues such as: abortion, gun control, the death penalty, stem cell research, gay marriage, etc., the focus of attention and he made sure to stir up Republican voters enough to ensure that not only would they go out and vote, but they would take their families and friends with them. He made sure that Republicans were angry that government wanted to take control of health care, or take away the right to own guns, or murder unborn babies. Anger=passion, and passion gets people to the polls. McCain was unable to stir the pot, no-one was angry that Barack Obama was the single most liberal Senator in the senate. No one was angry that Obama was in support of the D.C. ban against hand guns, or that he supported legislation as a state senator in Illinois that would prevent a doctor from saving the lives of babies who were born after a botched abortion. These issues were not put on the table and Republicans were not mobilized. As a result we saw a record number of Catholics and Christians voting for Obama, when in 2004 they came out strong for Bush. As a volunteer for McCain's campaign I made hundreds of phone calls and spoke with many Republicans who stated that they were not fans of McCain and that they were not going to vote. This seems to have been the popular option across the country. McCain was overly moderate during his campaign and shyed away from the controversial social issues because he wanted to appeal to independents and soft democrats, but in doing so he isolated his base. Above everything else, McCain lost in '08 because the Republicans stayed home. In 2012 the GOP needs a candidate who will get the voters to the polls.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Governor Jindal's 2012 Prospects Doomed?
The Republicans tapped Gov. Jindal to deliver the rebuttal speech about two weeks in advance and he had ample time to prepare it. Political careers can be defined from one speech, we saw this when President Obama made his now famous speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 on behalf of Senator John Kerry. After President Obama's electrifying speech, many commentators predicted that he would be a strong candidate in 2008, and clearly he was. Gov. Jindal was given a good opportunity after President Obama's speech to the joint session of Congress, but many think Gov. Jindal did not hit his speech out of the park. GOP commentators and Democrat commentators alike have described Jindal's speech as 'childish' and as a 'disaster,' describing it as lacking character, and not really making a strong statement to boost the image of the GOP. Still, many people defended Jindal, and still think he will make a strong candidate in 2012 against President Obama. Gov. Jindal is still relatively unknown across America and many questions still remain about him and his policies. Do you think Gov. Jindal will make a good candidate or do you think Republicans are simply pushing him as a candidate because he is a minority? Was his speech a disaster, or did it just pale in comparison to a huge speech from the President in front of a joint session of Congress? Could anyone have looked good going after President Obama?
Please visit Governor Jindal's home page where you can view the entire rebuttal speech and learn more about the governor:
http://www.bobbyjindal.com/index.php
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Palin 2012?
After the election, I spent over 6 hours analyzing exit poll data from the election. Exit polls are taken by random voters immediately after they cast their vote. The data is compiled from polling locations nationwide and in this election cycle, 17,836 voters were polled, making the data extremely precise and reliable. The data strongly suggests that Palin was not the reason McCain lost. One question asked, "Who is Qualified To Be President if Necessary?" 91% of respondents who voted for Obama answered "Only Biden," while 96% of those who voted for McCain answered "Only Palin." More Republicans thought Palin would be qualified to be president then Democrats thought Biden would be qualified. Another question asked, "Is Biden Qualified to be President if Necessary?" Only 71% of those who voted for Obama answered "yes" while 91% of those who voted for McCain answered "yes" to the question, "Is Palin Qualified to be President if Necessary?" This indicates that those who voted for McCain, mostly Republicans, had more confidence in Palin than those who voted for Obama, mostly Democrats, had confidence in Biden. This is only a fraction of data that indicates that Palin did not have a negative effect on McCain's bid for the presidency. I know from a personal perspective that Palin energized the GOP and Republicans who were not excited about McCain became excited when Palin was chosen as the running mate. I strongly believe that Palin was a positive factor of McCain's ticket. The exit poll data can be found at: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#val=USP00p2
Monday, February 16, 2009
My Thoughts on the Stimulus Bill
Monday, February 9, 2009
Talk Radio Running the GOP?
Rush Limbaugh has consistently been cited as the leader of the talk show coup against Republican leaders, and that should come as no surprise when considering that Limbaugh has been the most-listened-to talk show host since the mid 1990's. Limbaugh has an estimated 14 million listener base and recently signed a contract earning him $38 million a year through 2016. Limbaugh has also stirred the most controversy since the inauguration of President Obama, stating that "he hopes Obama fails." The media has been swift in playing Limbaugh's quote and criticizing him for not giving the President a chance to prove himself, but it is Limbaugh who has not been given a chance to criticize the new President. Taken out of context, Limbaugh's statement does seem premature and irresponsible in the sense that all Americans are depending on President Obama succeeding as President for the good of the country, but Limbaugh's statement is perfectly clear in the view of Conservatives who do not want to see America transformed into a socialist country. Limbaugh's statement in its entirety is in defense of American ideals of democracy, capitalism, and the free market. Limbaugh made it known that if President Obama's policies are going to turn the country into a socialist county, that he hopes President Obama fails, and so do I. President Obama was elected with a record indicating that he was the single most Liberal Senator in the Senate and it is only natural that liberal policies are going to be implemented. Conservatives must have the opportunity to oppose the Liberal agenda and it is no surprise that we would want Liberal policies to fail.
Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have been critical of the stimulus bill that President Obama has been exhaustively advocating. Sean Hannity hosts a syndicated radio program on hundreds of stations across the country and hosts an hour long program weekdays on the Fox News Channel. Hannity has been opposed to the stimulus bill since President Obama began pushing for it, claiming that the bill is polluted with pork spending and will do very little to improve the economy. Limbaugh has dubbed the stimulus bill the "Porkulus" bill and urges Republican Senators daily not to vote for the bill. House Republicans stood strong and not a single Republican member of Congress voted for it.
Conservative Talk Show Host's opposition to liberal policies should not be seen as an attempt to exert control over the GOP and should be seen as constructive criticism. Conservative Talk Show Hosts are rallying the Conservative base and putting social issues back in the spotlight, allowing Republicans to shine. There is a visible lack of leadership in the GOP, but Limbaugh and Hannity are not trying to fill the positions, they are attempting to educate their listeners so that those listeners can then select the new leadership that can rebuild the GOP.
Check out Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity's websites at:
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com
http://hannity.com
Thursday, February 5, 2009
New Leadership for the GOP Makes History
A recipe for change: How can the GOP rebuild their image and win elections?
This blog will offer my ideas on what the Republican Party must do to enhance their image and reclaim majorities in the House and Senate and begin winning elections. I intend to produce several posts a week that will focus on issues such as: Who will emerge as the new leaders of the GOP? Do Republicans like Governor Sarah Palin and can she be elected? What major platform issues should the Republicans focus on? Is President Obama performing well, and should the Republican attack his policies and decisions? And many more topics that may arise in this ever changing political climate.
Please check back often and post as many comments as you would like. I am open to criticism from Liberal view points and I would love suggestions for future post topics.