GREAT READ! Spread to your friends on the blogs! Major H/T to Mike @ Mike’s America for putting me on to this nugget. Go and download the document that McCain supporters handed to reporters leaving on the trip with the messiah, excuse me, Senator.
Some of Washington’s best and brightest conservative writers can be found at The American Spectator, a daily online magazine (often mentioned by el Rushbo who frequently includes it in his “stack of stuff’) that features conservative perspectives and analyses on the day’s events and issues.
ON THE RADIO! Tonight at 9 ET we’ll be talking to two of these sharp political writers.
Robert Stacy McCain asks the question: Is there a clear reason for Republicans’ defeatist mood? His take… not quite. A Rasmussen Presidential polling shows the candidates are head-to-head.
“Despite the dispirited state of the GOP, the ideological muddling of the McCain campaign, and the media accolades for Obama, it is far from a foregone conclusion that Hope and Change will triumph Nov. 4.”
“Obamamaniacs were thrilled by last month’s Newsweek poll showing their candidate ahead by 15 points. Alas for the apostles of Hope, either that poll was a statistical mirage or else the mass movement toward Obama quickly receded, and Newsweek reported last week that his lead is now an insignificant 3 percentage points.”
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Midway through the program, Philip Klein will join us to add to the conversation. He was quoted this week in USA TODAY’s article on controversial The New Yorker magazine cover. Philip also attended Senator Obama’s Iraq speech in D.C. and will give us his take on the man and the speech. What’s the worst that could happen?
Tonight he’ll lay it out for us. Just click the button below at 9 to join us.
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In response to Obama’s claim that Republicans will use race to stoke fear, Lt. Col Allen West, candidate for Congress in Florida’s 22 District (Broward County) said this:
My advice to Senator Obama is to run as a Man and Leader, and the American people will evaluate you as such, not as a victim. This is a Presidential race, based solely on a capacity to lead the United States of America. It is not about skin tone…however, perhaps we should come to expect these immature statements.
It also seems rather humorous that the Presidential candidate who was supposed to be such a “uniter” and transcend race is the one talking about it the most. If Senator Obama was confident in his abilities and character, he would not need to create a crutch for failure. Senator Obama has just tipped his hand, any criticism of him and his policies will be directly attributed to racism. I congratulate Senator Obama for taking race relations in America back some 30 years.
West has faced down the world’s terrorists: in Operation Desert Storm, in Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he was battalion commander for the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, and in Afghanistan, where he trains Afghan officers to take on the responsibility of securing their own country.
In 2004, when it was time to retire from more than twenty years of service in the US Army, he brought his wife and two young daughters to Broward County, Florida, where he taught high school. He then returned to Afghanistan as an advisor to the Afghan army, an assignment he finished in November 2007.
In his Army career, Col. West has been honored many times, including a Bronze Star, three Meritorious Service Medals, three Army Commendation Medals (one with Valor), and a Valorous Unit Award. He received his valor award as a Captain in Desert Shield/Storm, was the US Army ROTC Instructor of the Year in 1993, and was a Distinguished Honor Graduate III Corps at Fort Hood, Texas Air Assault School.
Tonight at 9 pm ET, we’ll spend some time with Col. West, getting his views on the War, our dependence on foreign oil, illegal immigration, Israel, Iraq, and Congress’ dismal approval rating, today at an all time low of 9%.
Join us. Click the link below …
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Remember two years ago, when my tighty-righty compatriots couldn’t abide the GOP affronts to their ideological purity any longer and loudly declared their intention to drag them to philosophical repentence by staying home on Election Day and letting the Democrats take Congress back? Remember how I wrote then that all this would do is convince the Republican remnant that they couldn’t count on the party’s conservative base and that they would instead scatter to the four winds in an every-Pachyderm-for-himself panic?
So they asked for it, so it is coming to pass (via Newsmax Insider):
Republicans in the U.S. House have parted ways with GOP leadership and voted for a key Medicare bill — providing a possible sign of things to come before the November elections.
Despite Minority Leader John Boehner’s aggressive push to convince GOP members to oppose the bill, 129 Republicans joined with all 226 Democrats to pass the legislation, which would prevent cuts in physician’s fees under Medicare.
The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call observed: “House Republican leaders’ embarrassing failure to hold the line against a Medicare-related bill raised new questions about whether the rank and file will adopt an every-man-for-himself strategy as the election draws near.”
Representative Wayne Gilchrest, a Maryland Republican who was defeated in a primary earlier this year, told Roll Call that he views the Medicare vote as evidence that House Republicans are realizing they have to put their own interests above toeing the party line.
The American Medical Association and the pharmaceutical industry supported the bill. The GOP leadership opposed it partly in the belief that more “palatable” legislation is being drawn up in the Senate, according to Roll Call, which added, “With more sensitive votes expected in July and September, Republican leaders’ ability to hold their rank and file in line will continue to be tested.” [emphasis added]
IOW, “their own interests” and those of conservatives have diverged. Which will doubtless provoke the Quinn Hillyers of the cyberworld into “punishing” the GOP even more, which will further alienate whatever scattered Republican survivors even more and push them further to the Left, and so on.
‘Tis the bitterest of ironies that virtually all of the Left’s momentum in this cycle is being generated by the civil war raging on the Right. It’s so bad it may take an Obama presidency to defibrilate my wayward brethren back to sanity.
Perhaps there is still some hope for counter-change. But even then it probably won’t recur in my lifetime.
[cross-posted at 
]
Eat. Ask. Watch. With GOP Convention Communications Director Matt Burns on Friday, June 27th at 12Noon Central. Seriously, you will be sitting at your desk, with your Starbucks and snack. Here are the deets:
Via GOP Convention on Facebook:
Got any lunch plans? We’d love to get together and tell you about the preparations being made in advance of the 2008 GOP Convention, we are launching a weekly online conversation with convention staff called “Lunchtime Chats.”
With the help of Ustream.tv, the convention’s live video streaming provider, Lunchtime Chats will offer informal, interactive, and LIVE question and answer sessions with convention organizers. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the convention progress as senior staff members answer your questions LIVE from their desk at the convention headquarters in Saint Paul, Minn.
Email chats@gopconvention2008.com to submit questions prior to the LIVE chat.
Only 67 Days to go!
Fighting Words, Revisited
Mark Hosenball
NEWSWEEK
Back in 2004, when the Senate intelligence committee began investigating whether public statements by U.S. officials about Saddam Hussein’s pre-invasion Iraq were “substantiated” by existing intel, Republicans controlled Congress and the committee’s inquiry was aimed at figures on both sides of the aisle. The idea was to examine the fighting words of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney as well as prominent Democrats including Al Gore, Sen. John Kerry and Sen. Hillary Clinton. But Democrats, who took over the panel after winning Senate control in 2006, decided that the final report would examine only statements by “policymakers”—in other words, the Bush administration. So in the report, due out this week, no Democratic comments will be parsed. That includes an Oct. 10, 2002, speech by Clinton in which she criticized Saddam’s WMD ambitions and accused him of giving “aid, comfort and sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members.” (Continued…)
“For the first time in many years heavy military equipment will be used. This is not sabre-rattling. We are not threatening anyone and don’t plan to,” Putin said ahead of the traditional Victory Day parade on Friday.
No that is not supposed to raise questions, but God forbid there be a DEFENSIVE missile system near by. Or HIS talk of new Russisn missiles that can penetrate “any missile defense system.” Don’t worry about it at all!
Previous work done on the topic, that can help you form an opinion on the matter: USSR Watch, II, IV, V
OBAMA’S PAL BILL AYERS WIPES HIS SHOES ON OUR FLAG. And he did it while hangin’ with “LeBron, baby”.
The blog swarm began with Marathon Pundit’s post last night. Picked up by Michelle Malkin, it has gone viral. We’re kicking it up a notch with this post. TWD said he’d been waiting for a shoe to drop on Obama this weekend, causing Barack Hussein to stumble in the Indiana and N.C. primaries tomorrow. ThirdWaveDave had no idea how prophetic his instincts were. The shoe dropped, alright. Right on Old Glory.
The political bloggers are ALL OVER IT. Now let’s see how long it takes the mainstream media and the radio talkers to bring it forward to the rest of America. Barack’s buddy — still crapping on America.
It’ll be the topic of discussion on my show tonight. Douglas V. Gibbs joins me for the full hour before hosting his show immediately following (see post below). Doors open at 9p ET. “A Conversation with Andrea… on Blog Talk Radio”
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Gary W. Moore is a humble man, calm and friendly, happy to discuss the life of his father. After all, the tale of his father is larger than life, and a story we can learn from - because it is a tale about second chances, but second chances in a direction that we don’t always expect. Gary’s father, Gene Moore, began his journey to the pages of Playing With The Enemy as a 15 year old baseball prodigy that was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1940. The outbreak of World War II, however, demanded that the young phenom join the military. Gene Moore joined the United States Navy, and his tour began in North Africa where he played for the Navy baseball team to entertain the troops. The duty was not always easy, or away from danger, evidenced by the death of the center fielder when an explosion on the field took the young ballplayer’s life. Later, as the war effort concentrated more on the theater in Europe, Gene Moore was sent on a secret mission to guard German POWs in Louisiana. These prisoners were very special, however, and their capture was a secret to the outside world for a tremendous reason. The submarine these German sailors were the crew of was the U-505 (now on display in Chicago, Illinois at the Museum of Science and Industry), inside which the United States procured the Enigma Machine and all of the code books that went with it, enabling us to stay on top of the changes in the code, and therefore assisting us in winning the war against Germany. During this time that Gene Moore guarded these prisoners, primarily out of his desire to play baseball (and perhaps a little boredom), Gene Moore and his fellow military baseball players taught the enemy soldiers how to play America’s pastime. The story does not end there, however. Tragedy, and the storms of life that can crush dreams, and enable the birth of new ones, came to Gene Moore’s life. It was then that he learned about second chances, and the importance of the unexpected things in life. This inspirational true story is being made into a film by Producer Gerald R. Molen via his WhiteLight Entertainment production company. Molen’s and White Light Entertainment’s credits include Schindler’s List, Minority Report, Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Twister, Casper, Rain Man and The Flintstones. White Light Entertainment has to its credit 33 Academy Award nominations, 19 Academy Awards, including two for the best picture and a total box office collection of $4 billion from the 14 movies it has produced so far. The screenplay was written by WhiteLight director of development David Ranes and the author’s son, Toby Moore, who’s also set to portray his grandfather. The film is in production now and is slated to be released during the first quarter of 2009. I first met Gary W. Moore, the author of Playing With The Enemy, at a book signing in San Diego on October 1, 2006. A month later we got together in Pasadena, California after another book signing, and it was then that I realized I had made a wonderful friend. Since then, Gary W. Moore has appeared on my Political Pistachio Radio Show a number of times (April 7, 2007; June 16, 2007 with his publisher: Ted Savas; and January 26, 2008). And honestly, Playing With The Enemy is a great read, and a book that is not about World War II and Baseball as much as it is about the human spirit. As for the movie? Well, I hear there is going to be some great acting talents in the film, but the producer has not released the names, yet. However, when we know who those actors are that are in the film, you will find out about it on Political Pistachio, and of course at that time we will have Gary W. Moore return to Political Pistachio Radio to discuss the latest news regarding this blockbuster film. Also see Gary interviewed by CNN here, and the Fox affiliate in Milwaukee here.
And don’t forget to catch Political Pistachio on Blog Talk Radio nightly at www.blogtalkradio.com/politicalpistachio.
Among Conservatives the rumblings are constantly about how the Republican Party has left us, moving toward the left, using “Compassionate Conservatism” as an excuse to inject big government into the party. The Republican Party leadership is hardly conservative, and the current nomination for President of the United States, John McCain, is barely better than his two Democrat Party opponents.
The Republican Party has lost its way, and if it is not salvaged soon, the GOP will go the way of the Whigs.
A handbook for Republicans who feel in their heart that the basics of the Republican Party have been lost is on the bookshelves of bookstores today. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is a handbook for Republicans that explains how we need to return to our roots. The author of the book is Michael Zak.
Back to the Basics for the Republican Party is an acclaimed history of the Grand Ol’ Party from the civil rights perspective, as well as recognizing the founding principles of the United States. Michael Zak believes that we can benefit greatly from knowing and appreciating the Republican Party’s heritage.
Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country, and his book has been cited by Clarence Thomas in a Supreme Court decision. Hundreds of articles by Mr. Zak are available on the Grand Old Partison blog each day, celebrating 154 years of Republican heroes and heroics.
Tonight, Michael Zak is my guest on Political Pistachio Radio tonight at 10:00 PM Eastern Time.
I usually do not promote my show, but tonight I will be spending the first portion of the show speaking about Missile Defense. If you want some facts please tune in at 2100hrs eastern.
In today’s podcast at 11AM Eastern, we’ll talk to Congressman Jeb Hensarling, Rep. TX, about his proposed Bloggers’ Bill of Rights, the Blogger Protection Act of 2008, which would give bloggers permanent protection from FEC campaign laws when linking to campaign Web sites or editorializing about candidates. As Bill Hobbs explains,
The FEC granted bloggers protection two years ago from regulations that potentially could have defined bloggers’ linking to a campaign Web site or editorializing about a candidate a campaign contribution or expenditure. Hensarling’s legislation would make those regulatory protections statutory.
Here’s what his office has to say on the Bill:
Two years ago, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) issued regulations that protected bloggers from being hampered by certain campaign finance laws. Under these regulations, bloggers cannot be considered to have made a contribution or expenditure on behalf of (or in opposition to) a candidate simply because they link to campaign websites or write about the positions of federal candidates. Additionally, blogs are treated as any other publication under the general media exemption from most campaign finance restrictions. Without such protections, bloggers could be subject to various limitations and reporting requirements under campaign finance law.But these blogger protections are just regulatory—they are not in statute. As you may know, regulations can be changed without congressional action, and there’s no telling what a future FEC might decide to do. Furthermore, the FEC is currently defunct because of vacancies and a lack of quorum. Therefore, we shouldn’t put the freedom of bloggers in the regulatory hands of the FEC. Congress should protect them in law.
If Congressman Hensarling has time, we’ll also touch on the spending limit amendment.
Chat’s open at 10:45 and the call in number is (646) 652-2639. Join us!
Cross-posted at Fausta’s blog
Tonight on the Andrea Shea King Show, one of my favorites will be joining me to talk politics. And you’re invited to eavesdrop. Or call in with your two cents!
Chuck Muth, former exec of the American Conservative Union, President and CEO of Citizen Outreach, political consultant and the all around cure for the common conservative, brings a plethora of stuff to talk about.
Political stuff. McCain, the imitation Democrat. Inside baseball. (Like what’s going on with Republican-turned-Libertarian Bob Barr.) Pet peeves. Major peeves. (Like the TSA gestapo you have to go through at every airport. Or the attack on home schooling. ) Good interesting stuff. Chuck’s connected. And engaged.
We get underway at 9p ET (6p PT). Hit the link then to launch the program:
Right up there with Michelle Malkin, “Media Lizzy,” Pajama’s Media, Power Line and Ed Morrisey, John Hawkins is one of the top Conservative Bloggers on the Blogosphere. His two sites - Rightwing News and Conservative Grapevine, are enormously popular and pull in tens of thousands of viewers a day.
He will be our guest tonight at 7:00 pm cst on “Libertarian Politics Live.” Listen in at www.blogtalkradio.com/libertarian.
We will be discussing: Obama’s ties to Radical Islam and Rev. Wright, McCain’s poll numbers, Ron Paul wierdness, and Bob Barr’s entry into the race as a Libertarian.
You can call in at 646-915-9887.
We’re also expecting a special guest or two to check in with us.
And if you missed our show last week with US Senator Mike Gravel now Libertarian for President, you can still listen to it on podcast at the link above.
For cutting edge news on the libertarian political movement from a Rightwing perspective - www.libertarianrepublican.blogspot.com
This September, President George W. Bush will take the Republican National Convention stage for the last time as the head of our nation, the head of our party and give over the seat at the top of the ticket to John S. McCain. Bittersweet and exciting - but such is the political life.
Minneapolis is just COOL. The GOP Convention 2008 folks are building staff - and making this convention the most tech-savvy and leading edge ever. Not to mention the Blog Madness fun… here are some of the highlights:
Just six months away… here come the planners! Not to mention… Executive Producer Named for GOP Convention and here comes the Google Innovation and YouTube and Digital Delegates!
—Media Lizzy
Finally… in a recent update from GOP Convention President & CEO Maria Cino:
This Isn’t Your Father’s GOP’
The GOP continues to round out its roster of official providers to the 2008 Republican National Convention with choices clearly designed to achieve the party’s goal of hosting the most tech-savvy convention in history. In the past month, Qwest and Google joined the already stellar line-up of Ustream.TV, YouTube, Travel Tech, and PR Newswire. In addition, the convention team is online with social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook.
Qwest Communications International Inc. will serve as the Official Communications Provider for the presidential nominating convention. As the Official Communications Provider, Qwest will be the exclusive provider of high-speed Internet as well as voice and data lines for the COA. Qwest also will provide hosting services and 24/7 network management and technical support.
Learn more about the Official Communications Provider in the News Room.
Google Inc. will serve as the convention’s Official Innovation Provider. Convention President and Chief Executive Officer Maria Cino made the announcement in a unique video posted to the convention’s new YouTubeTM channel. The video is also showcased on the convention’s website, and highlights Google’s cutting-edge, computer-generated SketchUpTM graphics of the Xcel Energy Center, where the 2008 Republican National Convention will be held. The video has already been viewed 20,000 times.
“Google and YouTube are synonymous with innovation, and our groundbreaking collaboration will set a new precedent for engaging and involving Americans in the Republican National Convention,” said Cino. “We also remain firmly focused on providing Senator McCain with every tool available to communicate his message to the American people - and this agreement is an important part of our efforts.”
Learn more about the Official Innovation Provider in the News Room.
The announcements made a huge splash online, especially among bloggers! Click through the list below for just a sampling of the coverage:
Cross posted @ Media Lizzy & Friends
