Steve Rathje's U.S. Senate campaign website is up and running. Steve is an interesting guy and the website is well worth the visit. Steve is also the only Republican in the field against the archtype of liberalism gone bad.
This is no endorsement, 'cause I don't think SCC types shold endorse in most primaries, and we might have a primary, but history seems to indicate that we won't beat Harkin running a status quo campaign. Don't you all think we need to start bleeding Harkin a little right now? Why wait until Bahama Tommy is twenty points up in October of '08 to expose the Real Harkin-a uniquely disingenuous and destructive socialist. Not a Real socialist of course, his millionaire lifestyle belies any genuine belief in egalitarianism, more like the 60s radical turned grey. Aging but still at war with America and our friends abroad; still determined to create that government big enough to give everyone everything the enlightened think you should have, while still big enough to take from you everything you have.
So Steve, how about a radio ad reminding all of Iowa's hunters that Tom Harkin wants to sink their guns in the ocean or maybe you target Tom's support of Castro, Chavez and Daniel Ortega just for starters. We can get to the serious stuff later.
71 comments:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/03/fixing_our_broken_politics.html
Great article on Newt. I like what he has to say about reforming the way we do campaigns. His approach represents new tactics, methods and procedures.
Ahhh...how refreshing.
March 06, 2007
Gingrich Tries to Fix Our Broken Politics
By Cal Thomas
Admit it, you hate politics: the gotcha games in which a quote can be taken out of context and used as a pretext for bashing one's opponent; the sound bites replacing reasoned argument; the focus groups and pollsters who tell candidates what to say instead of encouraging them to believe in something; the concentration on gaining and then maintaining power for its own sake; the enormous cost of elections, which transforms politicians into servants of those who give the most money.
Is it possible to have cleaner and more engaging politics that challenge the mind and offer real solutions to our problems, instead of crass appeals to our lower nature, the flip-flopping in order to garner favor with a particular interest group and the insincerity that seems to be behind it all?
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich believes it is and he has developed a compelling approach to new and better politics not seen since the days of Abraham Lincoln.
Go read the rest. It's on RealClearPolitics.com
Here's a good snippet, to save you time:
The point of the Gingrich-Cuomo "discussion" was to bring serious people together for a lengthy conversation about things that matter. I watched it on the Web (you can see it at www.americansolutions.com). It is the polar opposite of the insult to our intelligence that passes for contemporary politics.
Gingrich, especially, was brilliant as he laid out his vision and agenda for the future. He did not indulge in overstatement when he said, "This country today faces more parallel challenges simultaneously than at any time since the 1850s. And I believe there is a grave danger that our political system will not be capable of solving these problems before they take our society apart in ways that are very destructive."
Gingrich lamented the disappearance of what he called "the principle of seriousness," noting, "The (political) process is decaying at a level that is bizarre and it's a mutual synergistic decay between candidates, consultants and the news media. It's fundamentally wrong for the survival of this country."
Iowans should be leaders in this new new arena. These "discussions" need to take place in Iowa amongst all of our candidates if Iowa is to truly fulfill it's vetting role. The discussions need to be focused on issues facing the nation and the candidates
vision of resolving them, rather than focusing on their looks or personality.
Our current process creates personality cults.
I have to agree with our wise anon and Newt on this. My guy Obama is also saying very similar things. Maybe Sporer (see his real constructive discussion about Harkin in this post), Gordo, and the countless other blind-party-talking-point-attack/apologist machines should listen to these people who are seeing what people really want.
Refreshing indeed.
rf--
the problem with your analysis is its failure to account for the harkin role as the most vicous of the attack dogs, dishonest of politicians and dangerous of leaders.
you never hear me say such things about, say, Leonard Boswell. he's not perfect and i vehemtly disagree with leonard on most issues but leonard isn't anything like tom harkin.
it isn't blind partisanship to draw attention to the truly bad guys on the other side. there are many decent democrats and you know that you've heard me praise people like bill richardson, dick gephardt, etc.....
doesn't harkin's hypocricy sicken you?
Sporer,
I hate to break the obvious to you, but nearly all of your posts contain the standard summary attacks on Democrats (“D’s are this or that”). You must realize things like that turn off every more or less neutral and reasonable observer, and people tune out even the legitimate points you have. And you do have some.
With Harkin, his hypocrisy does not bother me any more than Grassley’s, or 95% of all other politicians. For example, Grassley makes an awful lot of noise about some relatively minor stuff to retain his fiscal conservative rep, and then he presides over the largest deficits in the history of this country, doles out $50 million for a stupid rainforest and is all for an unnecessarily expensive drug plan. Frankly, I think both Harkin and Grassley should go. I would gladly trade their seniority for fresh ideas and energy. Before last fall’s election, I said King was the only Iowa member of congress who deserved to be there. As much as I disagree with him, at least he stands for something and he probably represented his district better than anyone else in the previous delegation. The way you demonize Harkin is the same kind of stuff the angriest D’s come up with when they see pics of W with the Saudis or Rumsfeld meeting with Saddam. As much as I blame this administration for some major mistakes and disagree with their priorities, I am not so blinded by partisanship that I buy everything people come up with to demonize W & co.
It seems to me that you can tolerate D’s who are relatively harmless or are not likely to win their contest. If Boswell was a true power broker in Congress and could make things happen, I suspect you would be singing a different tune. If Richardson somehow ends up as our nominee, I can already see your posts about his corruption, links to Clintons, etc.
I ran across an obscure article in the Register yesterday. I was drawn to it because of the picture of Joy Corning, our former Lt Gov, who is on the board of planned parenthood and recently chaired the capital campaign which resulted in the naming of the Mary Louise Smith (room, or whatever).
How nice.
The article was annoucing that she would be the Iowa chair for the RLC, Republican Leadership Council. It's nationally headed by Christy Todd Whitman and purports to represent the fiscally conservative, socially moderate wing of the party.
Gov Branstadt is on the board too. Not sure if that's a national board or the Iowa board, but they intend to get active.
Welcome aboard! We've been needing more republicans to get involved for quite some time now.
Remember, we AGREE on 80-90% of the republican agenda. The area of disagreement tends to be in the degree of punishment not the principle itself.
We are unified in our DISAGREEment with the D's on about 90% of their agenda.
Let's not lose sight of the prize.
rf - you are right, we can tolerate relatively harmless democrats. Harkin is not only, NOT HARMLESS, he's down right dangerous to America.
He hates America more than almost anyone else in congress. It's terrible who and what he supports at america's expense.
Anon,
You are spouting out exactly the kind of stuff I’m talking about. “Harkin hates America, etc.” Do you honestly believe that? – We D’s can make very convincing arguments why W and a whole host of R’s “hate America” and have been “dangerous to America” because of what they have done to this country with their policies. However, I, and I believe most other reasonable people, realize that W & co, Harkin and most R and D politicians do have good intentions. Our preferred methods and policies may be different, but I strongly believe most Americans – both R and D – want to do what is best for the country. Name calling and questioning other people’s patriotism does nothing to further productive discussion about real issues we need to deal with.
“We are unified in our DISAGREEment with the D's on about 90% of their agenda.” – I both agree and disagree with this statement. I disagree in the sense that I believe D and R goals are the same 80-90% of the time. Secure homeland, good education, good jobs, good healthcare, etc. I agree in the sense that we often seem to disagree about how to reach those goals. But even there, if we really listened to each other, I suspect we could find plenty of common ground. On RLC you said: ”Fiscally conservative, socially moderate wing of the party.” I believe lots of D’s fall into this category. Plenty of common ground there.
wow - John Edwards doesn't believe in free speech. Check this out. He's almost as bad as Hillary. What is John afraid of?
(CBS/AP) Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards won't participate in a debate co-hosted by Fox News and the Nevada Democratic Party, his campaign said.
Edwards' campaign said the involvement of Fox News, which is often accused by liberals of having a conservative bias, was part of the decision to pass on the Aug. 14 debate in Reno.
"There were a number of factors and Fox was one of those."
So - what is CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, NPR, MSNBC?
Whatever happened to Air America????
I guess the free speech party only wants to talk to themselves in their own private echo chamber.
Nice to see the MoveOn.org feels they can only win if they inhibit or prohibit speech with which they don't agree.
MoveOn.org Civic Action says it has collected more than 260,000 signatures on a petition that calls the cable network a "mouthpiece for the Republican Party, not a legitimate news channel."
Fox News Channel vice president of news David Rhodes issued a statement calling it "unfortunate that Sen. Edwards has decided to abandon an opportunity to reach the largest mainstream cable news audience in America."
CABLE NEWS RACE
3/6/07 VIEWERS
FOXNEWS O'REILLY 2,297,000
FNC HANNITY/COLMES 1,701,000
FNC GRETA 1,451,000
FNC BRIT HUME 1,427,000
FNC SHEP SMITH 1,317,000
CNN KING 974,000
CNN COOPER 819,000
CNN DOBBS 797,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 722,000
CNNHN NANCY GRACE 588,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 563,000
CNN PAULA ZAHN 491,000
Democratic Party officials and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid initially touted the partnership with Fox News as an opportunity to reach out to a different bloc of voters.
But in a letter posted Wednesday on the party's Web site, Democratic Party Chairman Tom Collins said Reid now shares activists' concerns and "has asked us to take another look."
News on Chet Culver: His approval ratings.
Data Collected: 02/09/2007 - 02/11/2007
Release Date: 02/20/2007
Sponsor:
KAAL-TV Rochester-Mason City-Austin
Period ending Jan 15th:
Approve: 50
Disapprove: 31
Period ending Feb 12th
Approve: 55
Disapprove: 35
Conclusion: We aren't winning the rhetorical war.
Approve:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RVBtPIrEleM
A great depiction of the saviour of conservatism.
If we were a party that cared about outreach to new voters rather than to concentrate on only those voters we already have, we would be interested in THIS statistic and build upon it.
In the same survey. period ending 2/12/07, regarding Chet Culver, it was noted that TWO demographic groups, and ONLY TWO, demographic groups dislike Chet Culver:
Blacks:
Approve 35
Disapprove 65
Hispanics:
Approve 45
Disapprove: 48
Opportunity is KNOCKING!
Yes, the Democrats are dangerous to your personal health.
Remember when they used to try to convince us they didn't want to cut and run like weak cowards?
HA! They were LYING!
Democrats Want Iraq Pullout by Fall 2008
Mar 08 12:08 PM US/Eastern
By DAVID ESPO
AP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a direct challenge to President Bush, House Democrats unveiled legislation Thursday requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the fall of next year.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the deadline would be added to legislation providing nearly $100 billion the Bush administration has requested for fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
She told reporters the measure would mark the first time the new Democratic-controlled Congress has established a "date certain" for the end of U.S. combat.
Here's why Bill Clinton won, why Obama is surging and Hillary is falling:
This from Strategic Vision: Iowa Democrats ONLY:
When making your selection for a presidential candidate, what are you looking for most in the candidate, charisma, experience, or ideology? (Democrats Only)
Charisma 29%
Ideology 21%
Experience 16%
Undecided 34%
Bill and Obama have charisma and let's be honest,even Democrats might agree - Hillary ain't got no charisma.
U.S. reports 80 percent drop in Iraq insurgency strikes
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Thursday, March 8, 2007
BAGHDAD — The U.S. Army has reported a sharp decrease in insurgency attacks in Baghdad.
In the week of Feb. 24 to March 2, officials said, insurgency strikes and suicide bombings dropped for the fourth consecutive week in Baghdad. They linked this to the steady increase of security patrols in the city.
The army said violence has decreased by 80 percent in the most insurgency-ridden areas of Baghdad. Officials said Shi'ite and Sunni insurgents have been overwhelmed by the current joint Iraqi-U.S. operation in the Iraqi capital.
Farrakhan: Although black people looked at Bill Clinton as a black president, he did less for black people than other presidents. We lost the safety net, under his administration, for welfare mothers. We lost a lot.
Louis Farakhan gave an interview today, confirming that charisma is the top reason democrats use for presidential criteria - not character or ideals, but CHARISMA.
Farakhan:
"But his CHARISMA, no one can take that away from Mr. Clinton.
His ability to use language in many ways has attracted the hearts of black people. And the more the establishment beat up on him with his inappropriate behavior, the more black people understood his weakness, and forgave him, and came around him."
Here's the update on the democrat cut and run err, I mean, redeployment plan.
"Under a new House Democratic plan, all American troops could be out of Iraq by the end of 2007. White House officials immediately threatened a veto."
On the Fox thing with Edwards and MoveOn, I agree with you folks. Talk about blind and stupid partisanship. If we can’t mingle with the other side at all, we are in deep shit. I’m very disappointed with Edwards on this. He is clearly playing hard for the uncompromising angry side of the D party.
I don’t know where anon 2:52 was last fall if s/he thinks today’s news proves that D’s were lying about Iraq during the campaign. First of all, D’s were all over the map with Iraq (as there actually was real discussion about this issue within the D party), from stay-the-course-Lieberman to the let’s-pull-out-immediately folks. Most D’s were pretty clearly in favor of getting out in a timely manner. Anyone who is surprised about today’s news was not paying attention at all.
My guess is that John Edwards will selectively ignore this bit of good news since it runs very counter to his two americas theme. No one in his camp will likely even see this since it likely won't appear on CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC or NPR, but WILL be reported on FOX.
Two back to back record quarters. I guess those Bush Tax Cuts are working after all, just like the surge.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070308/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/fed_household_finances_1
Net worth of U.S. households skyrockets
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer
Thu Mar 8, 5:27 PM ET
WASHINGTON - The net worth of U.S. households climbed to a record high in the final quarter of last year, boosted mostly by gains on stocks, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday.
Net worth grew at a 2.5 percent growth rate from the third quarter, the previous quarterly record high.
http://state29.blogspot.com/
Every single republican in Iowa needs to read this completely on target post by State 29. Are you really a fallon guy? I can't believe how often I agree with you. Read the full article on his site because he hyperlinks to the stories that support his recommendations.
Here's the best part:
Who gives a crap about the person up against Harkin? So he's conservative, loves God, isn't corrupt, and doesn't masturbate. BFD. It doesn't matter. Don't use old jokes against Tom Harkin. Hit the MFer below the belt. That's the only way to get anybody's attention.
Harkin has money and will play dirty, so constantly kick him in the nuts.
Show up at a press conference wearing a T-shirt with Ramona Cunningham and Tom Harkin on it.
Accuse his wife of being a tool and employee of big oil while Harkin rants about "windfall profits" of oil companies.
Explain that Tom Harkin, a few months ago, was in favor of screwing farmers by wanting to import zillions of gallons of cheap Brazilian ethanol until Bush had the idea.
Point out that Harkin voted for the war in Iraq.
Talk about how kids have gotten fat Fat FAT in the years that Harkin's been in Washington trying to legislate waist sizes.
Mention all of Harkin's "Homeland Security" grants for $171,000 fire trucks in towns with 409 people and also saying "I happen to be a supporter of earmarks, unabashedly" while then turning around and complaining about the deficit.
Also keep the drumbeat going about how Tom Harkin loves illegals.
Harkin's beatable, but only if you have some brass balls and don't mind playing down and dirty. Otherwise, Republicans like Rathje (pronounced ain't-gonna-win-evah) might as well quit wasting their time.
----------
Unfortunately, State, I'm sad to report that our professional republicans were more concerned about Michael J Fox having his feelings hurt than to engage them in the real battle of what embryonic stem cell research was all about. Now, we have human cloning in the state of iowa because we were afraid to engage.
We operate from FEAR rather than from TRUTH and LEADERSHIP.
Unfortunately, Mr. Rathje will be advised to be kind to Mr. Harkin so as not to hurt his feelings. They will all stand around and pat themselves on the back congratulating themselves on their good behavior while we lose once again.
Harkin is bad for america. He LOVES Hugo Chavez. Wonder if he lost any money that may have been invested in CITGO, when Chavez nationalized it.
Harkin would LOVE to nationalize oil, and every other economic engine.
I LOVE reading Nick Johnson's blog. Can't believe he's a democrat either. I'd vote for him against Harkin. Keep encouraging him to run. More advice from State 29.
---
So, you Republicans, stop being nice against a pit bull like Harkin. Nobody cares about your resume. Nobody cares about your family values. Just park all that crap, buy an industrial-strength nut cup, and tape up your knuckles.
It's too bad Harkin won't be challenged by any Democrats. I still think Nicholas Johnson, if he wanted it badly enough, could be sworn in as Iowa's next Senator in 2009.
Congratulatons on your victory at the Iowa Supreme Court today. This is a HUGE decision regarding defamation with respect to public figures. Good work.
http://www.judicial.state.ia.us/Supreme_Court/Recent_Opinions/20070309/04-0987.pdf
I think Doug Gross should run against Harkin. I can really see Doug wiping the floor with Harkin. He's smarter, wylier, more logical and more factual. He's tough as nails and he has a great deal of campaign experience, including a hard fought run for the Governor.
Anyone have other suggestions? I love King too, but having Doug AND King in Congress would be good for Iowa. That way, we have two fighter/leaders instead of just one.
Harkin would take Doug Gross and mop the floor with him. Remember how Gross stood up to the Vilsack BS about corporate hog farms?
That description of what's needed to run against Harkin in spot-on. Doug Gross just ain't that kind of guy.
More news on the economic front that won't be reported by the news programs that John Edwards watches.
It was announced today that 95.5% of americans are employed. The unemployment rate is at or near national historic lows.
So, John, about that two americas thing. Did you hear that all of Europe has an unemployment rate above 10%? Maybe you need to go over there and talk about two Europes - Ya know..New and Old.
----
Joblessness drops, wages rise
The nation's unemployment rate dipped to 4.5 percent in February, even as big losses of construction and factory jobs restrained overall payroll growth, the Associated Press reported.
Employers added 97,000 new jobs in February, the fewest in two years, as bad winter weather forced construction companies to slash 62,000 jobs, the most since 1991.
Factories, feeling the strain of the troubled housing and auto industries, also continued to cut jobs. They eliminated 14,000 positions last month.
On a more encouraging note, job gains in the previous two months turned out to be stronger than previously estimated. Employers added 226,000 new jobs in December, versus the 206,000 last estimated.
Payrolls grew by 146,000 in January, up from a previous estimate of 111,000.
Average hourly earnings rose to $17.16, a 0.4 percent increase from January. That was slightly more than the 0.3 percent gain economists were expecting. Over the 12 months ending in February, wages grew by 4.1 percent.
Average hourly earnings rose to $17.16, a 0.4 percent increase from January.
----
What was all that talk about desperately needing to increase the minimum wage?
The ENTIRE democrat party are frightened of Fox News. How weak and pathetic is this?
---
The Nevada State Democratic Party is pulling out of a presidential debate scheduled for Aug. 14 in Reno, according to Democratic insiders.
The debate was being hosted by Fox News Channel and Fox News Radio, the Nevada State Democratic Party
Democratic activists have protested that Fox is not a suitable partner for the event.
Our Fox expert, is Fox's new Daily Show equivalent any good? What's the name of that show? I just heard on the radio that they have something like that. I would be interested to check it out. - See, I'm not afraid of Fox.
Those Culver approval numbers are worthless right now. He's riding a surge from his post-snowstorm media-whoring.
His pressers in his big red shirt (which made him look like Bob the Tomato) were good for at least 5 points.
The Union Thugs are at it again. Check out this thuggery of their own party.
Reprinted from NewsMax.com
Friday, March 9, 2007 12:18 a.m. EST
AFL-CIO May Urge Democrats to Move 2008 Convention
The AFL-CIO, angry about Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter's veto of a pro-union bill, may recommend that Democratic Party move its 2008 convention from Denver.
The bill would have made it easier to set up all-union workplaces.
"The attention of the American people will be focused on Denver and the state of Colorado as they prepare to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention," the labor federation's executive council said in a resolution passed during their winter meeting in Las Vegas. "Union members and working people will make up more than a quarter of the delegates to the Denver convention.
"Unless we can be assured that the governor will support our values and priorities, we will strongly urge the Democratic Party to relocate the convention," said the resolution passed Thursday.
The show to which you refer on Fox is The Half Hour News Hour. Republicans view it as funny satire and can watch it with the doors unlocked, but the scaredy cat democrats would think it's more frightening than Friday Night Fright Night.
Lock all the doors and shut out the lights. Hide under the covers.
Fox is on TV.
The Free Speech party has finally come out of the closet about how they REALLY feel about free speech by censoring Fox News. Are they the book burning party? When are they setting the date for that? I bet they burn all of Ann Coulters books.
the job numbers are fascinating. The entire job picture is rosy except for union jobs. We have about the highest employment ever with huge gains in new jobs, back to back record quarter, wages increasing overall, yet union jobs were slashed.
Do you suppose that explains all their bully tactics of late? Is that why they are thugging Iowa into being a union shop state? Does it explain their thuggery threats in colorado if they don't get to turn colorado into a no freedom state too?
are non-union democrats concerned about this forced unionization? they, too, will be forced to join unions and fork over hard earned dollars to unions without consent.
this isn't a republican thing. this is a freedom of choice thing. aren't you guys all about freedom of choice?
Edwards censors Fox. I bet he gives an interview to Al Jazerra though.
AKARP, Sweden, March 9 (UPI) -- A Swedish woman has been sued for smoking in her own garden.
Her neighbor in Akarp in southern Sweden, a lawyer, demands 15,000 kroner ($2,000) in damages for her previous smoking plus another 2,000 kroner ($280) every time she lights up in the future, The Local reported. She has received a district court summons to respond to his complaint.
"It makes me sad and angry," the 49-year-old single mom told Aftonbladet. "Should somebody else be able to control my life?"
More and more behavior being controlled by the state and criminalized if the state deems it inappropriate. They decide - not you.
Our democrat controlled legislature now wants the state to approve as an acceptable grandparent and have my home inspected by the state.
That's got to violate some kind of constitutional right. My god...where is that right to privacy thing they always yell about as being constitutionally protected.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2007/Mar-10-Sat-2007/opinion/13078877.html
Mar. 10, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
EDITORIAL: Meltdown over Fox
Network co-sponsors state Democratic debate -- oh my!
Hard-core liberals can't stand the Fox News Channel. Passing a television that's tuned to the conservative favorite forces many of them to close their eyes, cover their ears and scream, "La la la la la la la la la!" Then they dash to their computers and fire off 2,500 e-mails condemning the outlet, none of which are ever read.
But liberals' aversion to Fox News has finally gone over the top...
I think the unions re-emergence as thugs is because they wennt to moveon.org political thuggery school.
The tactics are amazingly similar with amazingly similar results.
I thought I saw Gordon goose-stepping downtown recently.
Jordan Creek is having a sale on jack boots.
i find it ironic how the flower children have turned into NO SEX, NO DRUGS, AND NO ROCK AND ROLL generation.
if we have the technology to remove fertilized embryos from, for the sake of argument, willing women - can we use this technology to eliminate abortion?
Could the 13 year old rape victim not have to choose between abortion and giving birth, and instead donate the fertilized embryo for purposes of adoption by infertile couples?
Is that possible?
Wacky thread here. Are some people drinking?
Anyways, trying to be as fair and balanced as I can be, I have to admit D's really are being stupid with this Fox thing. Everyone knows where Fox stands, but not even be willing to go on Fox is just plain ignorant. - Of course, the head of a network billing itself as "fair and balanced" singling out Obama and making Osama jokes is very stupid as well (he's not Polk County R Party Chair after all). Just imagine him or any other network head singling out Mitt and joking about his mormon underwear, or making fun of Rudy or Newt's highly moral private lives. Still, we all know where Fox stands and D's should just get over it.
The union influence on the party is another area where D's deserve a lot of the criticism they get. If nothing else, "fair share" and similar things are real political losers. We should be spending our political capital on important stuff.
Maxine Watters was on Fox today. She didn't seem to be afraid.
Editorial
AFL-CIO bullying Colorado on Dems’ 2008 convention
The Washington DC Examiner Newspaper, The Examiner
Mar 12, 2007 3:00 AM
Current rank: # 2 of 18,818
WASHINGTON - National AFL officials seem determined to remove any remaining doubt in anybody’s mind that Gov. Bill Ritter did the right thing in February by vetoing Colorado House bill 1072. That hurriedly approved measure repealed a long-standing Colorado law requiring that, once a company’s employees approve a union, they have a second, secret-ballot vote on how dues will be assessed, with a 75 percent supermajority required for approval.
Why is the AFL-CIO so worried about an obscure Colorado bill? Because the vetoed measure was of a piece with the “Employee Free Choice Act of 2007” now being rushed through Congress by national Democrats, led by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif. That bill abolishes all secret ballot voting in union representation contests. Doing away with workers’ right to cast a secret ballot when voting on whether to unionize is the AFL-CIO’s top national priority because union leaders think it will help them reverse their decades-long slide in membership. Less than 10 percent of all private sector workers now belong to unions.
AFL-CIO officials say they will urge Democrats to move their 2008 national convention from Denver if Ritter doesn’t agree to sign a re-introduced version of 1072. Since a quarter of the delegates to a typical Democratic National Convention are union representatives, the AFL-CIO threat is not a hollow one for DNC officials. But the AFL-CIO’s threats against Ritter and Colorado workers shows exactly why secret ballots must be protected in all workplaces nationwide. Otherwise, workers will be exposed to endless threats and intimidation from thuggish union organizers.
Ritter should man-up and tell the AFL-CIO to take its aging school-yard bully tactics elsewhere
http://www.examiner.com/printa-613849~AFL-CIO_bullying_Colorado_on_Dems’_2008_convention.html
How afraid of unions are our Iowa state legislators? Plenty scared.
rf
I think you can chill. Ailes was making fun of Bush confusing osamba with obama. IT WAS A JOKE ABOUT BUSH!
And..unfortunately for Osama, his name really does rhyme with obama.
Have you seen the Kenney clip where he messes it up?
For a party that endorses the union thuggery that is currently going on, the dems sure are sensitive about jokes.
How were you on that Kerry joke not too long ago? Were you charitable toward Kerry or were you offended?
How did you feel about that joke of Maher's where he thought Cheney ought to be dead?
This is the best thing to happen to republicans in a while. The netroots are now officially the NUTroots. The party is now officially known as the spite your face party.
This from the dialy kos (their lib fearless leader) about their thuggish victory.
by kos
Fri Mar 09, 2007 at 03:49:31 PM PDT
So it's official, though I'm still waiting for an official statement from the Nevada Democratic Party and maybe even Harry Reid.
The Big Winner: the Progressive movement, which came together at all levels -- netroots, grassroots, and even some institutional players.
The other Big Winner: John Edwards, whose early leadership dropping out of the debate spurred intense media coverage (hence pressure) and fueled its demise.
Snatched victory from the jaws of defeat: Richardson, who announced he was pulling out just an hour or so before the official demise of the debate. He would've been left isolated, the only candidate to agree to a now-dead debate. Spared by the hair on his chinny chin chin.
Mild loser: The other campaigns, especially Obama, who could've shown some leadership and hit back at the network that has been tormenting them with non-stop smear attacks. Instead, they played it safe.
Edwards only cares about the nutroots. He's taking his marching orders and his talking points from them. How weak is that? That's weaker than Hillary, the Goldwater girl, taking her marching orders and talking points from Bill.
Dems cut and run from another evil empire - From Politico: "Nevada Dems nix Fox debate"
They’re still gnashing their teeth over Ann Coulter’s “faggot” remark, trying to say that she called him gay (she didn’t…she just called him a pansy, for lack of a better word), that they’ve apparently not noticed what goes on in their own camp (daily, I might add):
Bill Maher: The Republican Party, besides Rudy Giuliani, Bush likes to dress up. He likes to be a cowboy, or Iceman from “Top Gun.” And they have something very gay, excuse me, going on with Ronald Reagan.
I mean, they love Ronald Reagan in a way that’s just gay.
I’m sorry. But, I think they want to put him on a stamp so that they can lick his backside.
Ian has the video.
Now, let’s be clear on something here. With Maher, this is a pattern, not a fluke. Remember, this is the guy who got fired from ABC for calling the 9/11 terrorists “brave” and whatnot. This is the same guy who, just recently, said that the world would be a far better place if Cheney, our sitting Vice President, a leader of OUR country, would have been assassinated in Afghanistan. This is a man who, also just recently, bashed our troops (blood sport on the left).
And this kind of speech and hatred certainly isn’t restricted to just Bill Maher. Comb through the liberal blogs, those bastions of “compassion and civility”, and you’ll see it on full display. I’m not talking about the small-time ones, although they themselves are just as bad, I’m talking about the major ones, the ones who think they are in the mainstream of American political thought (problem is, though…they’re not).
They complain about Ann Coulter who, as I said before, was out of line (many conservatives
By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 18, 2007; Page A04
Democrats pledged to bring courtesy to the Capitol when they assumed control of Congress last month.
Hagel just called a great big news conference to announce he's going to think about announcing and he'll announce that later.
Huh?
The ACLU is on Fox right now. They sure don't seem to be afraid of Fox.
They are representing a muslim who is suing a public school district.
Monday, March 12, 2007 10:27 a.m. EDT
Al Sharpton Blasts Barack Obama
The Rev. Al Sharpton is working behind the scenes to sabotage the presidential hopes of Sen. Barack Obama.
"He’s saying that Obama never did anything for the community, never worked with anybody from the community, that nobody knows the people around him, that he’s a candidate driven by white leadership,” a prominent black activist told the New York Post.
Another activist said: "It’s driving Al crazy that Obama is as impressive and popular as he is, and he’s not happy about it. Sharpton is just terrified of being overshadowed by someone of Obama’s class and character
I was not offended by the Fox person’s comment about Obama/Osama. And of course the truth is that those names rhyme. I was just pointing out that it was very stupid of him to say it, no matter what the context. Being in the news business, he should know how these things play out in today’s media environment.
This does bring up a real issue. We really have gone overboard with the PC stuff. To blurt out an inconvenient truth is no longer acceptable – such as McCain or Obama saying that lives have bees “wasted” in the Iraq war. McCain thinks the war has been badly executed and Obama thinks it was a bad idea to begin with. Of course the logical conclusion from both arguments is that the lost lives have been more or less wasted. But we just can’t say that because it’s not PC. The same applies to Kerry’s botched joke about the military. Obviously, he ended up saying what a majority of Americans think. We all know how many people end up in the military. But it’s not PC to say. Naturally you R’s can come up with many examples of stupid PC standards the left has created. – I believe this is a very sad situation, as we are often prevented from discussing the real issues, the inconvenient truths.
Federal Deficit Down Sharply This Period
Mar 12 09:05 PM US/Eastern
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
The deficit for the first five months of the budget year is down sharply from a year ago as the growth in government tax collections continues to outpace growth in spending.
The Treasury Department reported that the deficit from October through February totaled $162.2 billion, down 25.5 percent from the same period last year.
If the democrats are all about collecting taxes so they can spend spend spend, shouldn't they be FOR Bush's tax cuts? When they RAISE taxes, the tax receipts decrease. When they LOWER taxes, the tax receipts increase.
Hmmm........tax cuts always bring in more taxes. Yes, that's really true. Once again.
So when the tax rate hits 0%, the government will have more tax receipts than ever? That is the logical conclusion of your argument.
Obviously the tax cut & economic growth argument has some validity. What we need to do is find a good balance. In today’s society, government plays an important role. We should pay for those functions, not make our kids worry about the costs. A very conservative point of view, I would think.
Also, our parties seem to disagree about the fairness of our current tax system. I tend to be with Warren Buffett thinking that it is outrageous that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. I also happen to rate the injustice of estate tax pretty low on my priority scale. When we have our financial house in order and we are wondering what to do with all the surpluses, let’s take care of that injustice then.
I liked Hagel’s observations about the R party today. Seems like a good, honest conservative. I wish there were more of his kind. My side could use similar honesty as well.
Warren Buffets secretary doesn't pay a higher rate than does Warren, unless Warren cheats like crazy or zeros out his personal income through quite beneficial generation skipping generosity, etc...
However, I agree the tax system is unfair, far too complex and diminishes growth and opportunity.
Also, PCism is destroying our country by ending civil discourse. People are so repressed at the unnatural communication requirements of our culture that we are becoming a nation that is filled with rage at the stupidity.
Sorry Sporer, I take Warren's word over yours. Obviously it's about the fact that his secretary is a wage earner and he is not. Also, his secretary likely makes pretty decent money, as many "executive assistants/secretaries" do.
rf - do you know what level of income it takes before you have to pay income tax?
No I don't. Why you ask? - I assume you know that some of these high-level "executive assistants" probably make $100K+ per year, and I do know one pays pretty good income tax at those levels.
The Top 1%
Andrew Roth
From the IRS
Taxpayers with an AGI of at least $328,049, the top 1 percent of taxpayers, accounted for 19 percent of total AGI, representing an increase in income share of 2.2 percentage points from the previous year. These taxpayers accounted for 36.9 percent of the total income tax reported, an increase from 34.3 percent in 2003.
And Democrats want the tax code to be more progressive?
Your tax statistics also prove the point many D’s emphasize. Income inequality has grown significantly. Also, your statistics prove the point that even a slight increase in the tax rate for the top 1% would have a huge budgetary effect. If you are seriously looking to balance the budget, that’s obviously the place to go (on the income side of the budget). And a slight increase –say 1-2% - in the top earner’s rate is surely not going to hurt those people. Just a little less to go to the already hefty 401K. From what I remember, the top dogs did just fine in the 1990’s.
I suspect we both agree that it would be great if we could balance the budget by only working on the expense side. But neither party has been able to do it, so it’s kind of a moot point.
If these power-hungry, freedom-stealing, bullies called Democrats think I'm going to get my home inspected in order to babysit my grandchildren, or even our granddogs, they can come get me. I put them on notice--I REFUSE!!
They ought to have to lock up all the grandmothers in Iowa.
US President Tim Kalemkarian, US Senate Tim Kalemkarian, US House Tim Kalemkarian: best major candidate.
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