Andrew Boucher, whose claim to fame may be that he is a Colorado conservative with blogging credentials to the Democratic National Convention, made a great point yesterday about the larger significance of John McCain's upcoming selection of a vice-presidential running mate:There aren't many "natural" McCain volunteers. There will be even fewer if he turns off the base with his VP pick. Or, as I put it bluntly in a campaign planning meeting last week: If it's McCain-Ridge, we'll have 25 new GOTV volunteers in Fort Collins. If it's McCain-Romney, we'll have 250. Remember: the Romney team made thousands of grassroots volunteer phone calls in Larimer County for caucus and won with 60 percent. (As a frame of reference, Bush-Cheney … [Read more...]
Barack Obama: Question of Human Life “Above My Pay Grade”
Not only is Barack Obama's record on human life atrocious and frightening, but he seems utterly unable to give a clear, honest, or reasonable answer on the topic: "Above my pay grade"? So the buck stops where? More Americans need to wake up to the hollowness of the Barack Obama candidacy, and to think seriously about what kind of leader they want. Perhaps Barack Obama is genuinely confused about when human life begins and should be protected. After all, in some cases his confusion seems to extend beyond the point of birth (Scott Johnson at Powerline has more). No matter how he tries to dress it up, it's hard to deny that Obama is in the pocket of the abortion absolutist lobby. Meanwhile, one Red State diarist is just thankful … [Read more...]
Barack Obama and the Challenging Politics of Merit Pay: Denver Edition
Just wanted to bring your attention to a great new piece by Hannah Sternberg at The Weekly Standard on the politics of merit pay, a topic all too near to my heart. Most of the article explores a proposal by the reform-minded chancellor of Washington, D.C. Public Schools - Michelle Rhee - and how it's being received in this dysfunctional, bureaucratic education system. But the article also takes a peek at events surrounding Denver's groundbreaking ProComp teacher pay program, including a mention of the recent tensions that have resulted in strike threats. … [Read more...]
Phil Gramm’s Foot-in-Mouth Problem vs. Barack Obama’s Ongoing Elitism
Did you hear what Phil Gramm - former U.S. Senator, McCain for President economic adviser - said? If you're reading this blog, it's almost impossible to have missed it. (Hey - don't whine at me if you haven't heard what Gramm said!) It's become so bad that less than 24 hours into the story the big media is referencing the extent of its own coverage:Remarks by former Sen. Phil Gramm (R), a top economic advisor to Sen. John McCain, are drawing heavy negative attention for the candidate in the latest media cycle. 1996 was a long time ago - it was the first Presidential election in which I was eligible to vote. Yesterday helped to remind me why the Phil Gramm campaign never left the ground. The man is an economic whiz and one of the most … [Read more...]
Canadian Parents, Beware
Say what? As absurd as some of our court decisions seem to be, the Euro-wannabes north of the border have trumped us when it comes to sheer lunacy (H/T Doug Bandow):A recent court decision in Canada should send chills down every parent’s spine. The ruling is so out of bounds that the news story sounds like a parody — but it isn’t. A Canadian judge ruled that a 12-year-old girl was “excessively†punished when her father told her she could not go on a school camping trip because she had broken rules for use of the Internet. O Canada, the nation with tribunals that enforce politically-correct government censorship of speech, now gives us micromanagement of parental responsibilities. Wherever Canada is, I fear the United States is … [Read more...]
Dems Obstruct Solution to High Gas Prices, GOP Needs McCain to do Better
"Four bucks a gallon": it's the catchphrase that hits home all across America. Even putting the best face on it that they can, even federal government officials admit that gasoline prices figure to remain high for the foreseeable future. Yet on the same day, Democrats on a Congressional committee kill a proposal that would allow the United States to expand its domestic energy supply. I would say they're stuck on stupid, but it's far more likely that Nancy Pelosi, Mark Udall, and the Democrats are glad to see gasoline prices high, as they kowtow to radical environmentalist special interest groups. To top it off, the Democrats' Presidential candidate Barack Obama makes a ridiculous statement suggesting that rising gasoline prices is a … [Read more...]
Montana GOP Nominates Socialist Octogenarian to Run for U.S. Senate
It sounds like Republican Party ideals are not exactly in their heyday in Montana (H/T Volokh Conspiracy):Republican U.S. Senate nominee Bob Kelleher wants a “nonviolent revolution†to overthrow the foundation of American government. He favors enormous, FDR-style government work programs to reduce poverty; he wants to nationalize the American oil and gas industries and supports government-run, socialized medicine. He has little nice to say about President Bush or former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot. Political scientists and the head of the Montana Republican Party say Kelleher, 85, isn’t really a Republican, at all. And yet, two days ago, Kelleher beat five other, mostly conservative to mainstream GOP candidates to become the … [Read more...]
NEA Endorses Obama, Giving the Rest of Us a Reason to Vote McCain
Did you need a reason not to vote for Barack Obama? Perhaps need a reason to vote for John McCain? If I'm not convinced already, this press release from the National Education Association sure helps to push me in that direction:National Education Association President Reg Weaver announced today that he will ask the 9,000 locally elected delegates to the Association's Representative Assembly to take a formal vote to recommend that NEA's 3.2 million members support Barack Obama in his bid to become President of the United States.... The contrast between Obama and McCain on issues that matter most to NEA members – the economy, education and health care – is indeed stark. Obama opposes using public tax dollars to provide financial … [Read more...]
Ron Paul Supporters Numerous Among National Delegate Candidates
From the GOP Convention in Broomfield... Balloting is ongoing from state delegates. One of the things they are deciding on is the slate of delegates to the Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities. There is a list of nearly 400 candidates for national delegate in the Colorado Statesman along with their Presidential preference. About 40 percent have no preference listed - nearly the same amount (155) are pledged to John McCain. Poised to wreak havoc are 74 Ron Paul supporters, followed by a handful each listed for Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. State conventions can be strange things, though this is a particularly strange year. On a different note, Sen. Shawn Mitchell just compared Bill Ritter to Jimmy Carter ... ouch. … [Read more...]
Enough Cold Water Splashed on the Face of the GOP in Congress?
There's a great editorial in the Wall Street Journal today:If there is such a thing as a useful election defeat, then Tuesday's Republican loss in a special House election in Mississippi would qualify. Maybe this thumping in a heretofore safe GOP seat will finally scare the Members straight, or at least less crooked. Followed by a reminder that many members of Congress need to figure out what it is they stand for:In the Mississippi race, the national GOP tried to link Democratic candidate Travis Childers to Barack Obama and Reverend Jeremiah Wright. One TV ad declared: "Travis Childers: He took Obama's endorsement over our conservative values." But Mr. Childers was well known as a cultural conservative who favors gun rights and opposes … [Read more...]