Less than two weeks after I was one of 18 signators on The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition's acceptance of President Obama's invitation "to have a serious discussion" with people in the Tea Party Movement, the left wing smear merchants have begun their personal attacks on me in a predictably vile way.
First came a profanity laced left wing blogger who posted 16 years worth of my personal business and tax records on her blog.
Then today, champion smear monger Keith Olbermann named me "The Worst Person in the World" over runners up Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly.
You can see his personal attack on me here.
Without bothering to contact me to check on the facts, Mr Olbemann stated that "over 16 years , [Mr. Leahy] has had a few judgements filed against him for unpaid taxes, small claim court judgements, and civil suits.... nearly $150,000"
Olbermann concluded "So what's the point in protesting taxes if you're not going to bother to pay them anyways," and proceeded to name me the Worst Person in the World.
If Mr. Olbermann were a real journalist, instead of a left wing propagandist, he could have learned the facts of the situation before he exposed himself to the world, once again, as the conservative hating person he is.
Here are the facts:
The left wing blog smear listed a total of 12 distinct judgements covering the period 1993-2009. The total dollar amount of these judgements were $145,264.
$40,806 was from 7 civil judgements. Of these 7 judgements, 4 have been paid in their entirety.
$19,009 was a judgement filed by the State of California in 1993 in Los Angeles County. In 1993 I had not been a resident of California for 2 years, and earned no income in the state of California. Nor was I ever a resident of Los Angeles County. I was not even aware of this judgement until around 2003, at which time I promptly responded to the State of California that there was no basis for this judgement for the reasons I mentioned above.
$85,449 was for 4 Federal Tax Liens. Of these liens, more than half of the amount listed is for penalty and interest. I have, for the past nine years, engaged in a long dialogue with several different offices of the IRS, all towards the purpose of completing a workable installment agreement. Anyone who has had the pleasure of dealing with the IRS knows that this can be a long process, one that is particularly difficult for individuals and small business people. I am pleased to report that after years of attempting to actually hold such an installment agreement, I indeed have received a commitment from the IRS to have the very first meeting for this purpose within the next 30 days.
The broader question here is this:
What kind of country do we live in if anyone who raises their voices loudly against the socialist-statists who currently run our government and the Mainstream Media is rapidly subjected to vicious attacks in the left wing blogosphere ?
In the fall it was Joe the Plumber.
Earlier this week it was Carrie Prejean.
Today it's me.
Tomorrow will it be you, or any one of the 1 million other Tea Party Protesters who object to the out of control spending our Federal Government is currently subjecting us to ?
So, Mr. Olbermann, here's my challenge to you, if you have the courage to accept it.
I will debate you in person, on either Glenn Beck's program or the O'Reilly Factor on the following topic:
Which is worse for the future of the United States of America ? My tax problems, or the $1.8 Trillion Deficit in President Obama's current budget ?
Oh, and one last thing.
If you are to be consistent in your logic, you ought to nominate me to serve in President Obama's Cabinet. After all, Secretary of the Treasury had tax problems that were worse than mine. He knew the law and knowingly violated it.
I'm not running for public office. I'm not offering myself up to be a member of President Obama's Cabinet. And neither you nor any other left wing smear merchant will intimidate me from exercising my right of free speech as an American citizen.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
The Embarrassingly Crude and Ignorant Meghan McCain
Add Meghan McCain to the list of those whose departure from the Repubulican Party can't come quickly enough.
Besides her father's fame, Ms. McCain has no reason to be part of the public discussion.
Her recent attempts at pretending to be a blogging pundit have demonstrated only her ignorance and profound desire to impress her liberal friends with her constant public use of profanity.
Last night, Miss McCain, through her public tweets while attending the White House Correspondents dinner, used especially crude and profane language to describe the event. In fact, the only words she could use to describe the event were of a profane nature. This of course brings to mind the old saying that constant use of profanity is merely an indication of a person's limited vocabulary and inability to express in detail a coherent and illuminating thought.
Ms. McCain is apparently so proud of her contribution to the coarsening of society she sent out another tweet loudly proclaiming that she is highly ranked on a public website devoted to listing those public and private figures who use profanity most frequently in public.
Such coarse behavior in public appears to be on the rise, regrettably, and Miss McCain appears to be basking in the glow of those in our society who cheer such an unsavory trend.
Such a circumstance would be unpleasant enough to observe if Miss McCain actually had an original idea worth contributing to the public dialogue. Sadly, Miss McCain's apparent thirst for public notoriety appears to be the only driving force in the embarrassment that is her public record. I've been unable to observe one original thought in anything she's written. Every public utterance from her (those that are not crude and profane) appears to be out of the left wing liberal playbook.
Do us all a favor, Miss McCain, and try to improve your public manners.
And after you've done that, please publicly disavow any affiliation with the Republican Party.
Besides her father's fame, Ms. McCain has no reason to be part of the public discussion.
Her recent attempts at pretending to be a blogging pundit have demonstrated only her ignorance and profound desire to impress her liberal friends with her constant public use of profanity.
Last night, Miss McCain, through her public tweets while attending the White House Correspondents dinner, used especially crude and profane language to describe the event. In fact, the only words she could use to describe the event were of a profane nature. This of course brings to mind the old saying that constant use of profanity is merely an indication of a person's limited vocabulary and inability to express in detail a coherent and illuminating thought.
Ms. McCain is apparently so proud of her contribution to the coarsening of society she sent out another tweet loudly proclaiming that she is highly ranked on a public website devoted to listing those public and private figures who use profanity most frequently in public.
Such coarse behavior in public appears to be on the rise, regrettably, and Miss McCain appears to be basking in the glow of those in our society who cheer such an unsavory trend.
Such a circumstance would be unpleasant enough to observe if Miss McCain actually had an original idea worth contributing to the public dialogue. Sadly, Miss McCain's apparent thirst for public notoriety appears to be the only driving force in the embarrassment that is her public record. I've been unable to observe one original thought in anything she's written. Every public utterance from her (those that are not crude and profane) appears to be out of the left wing liberal playbook.
Do us all a favor, Miss McCain, and try to improve your public manners.
And after you've done that, please publicly disavow any affiliation with the Republican Party.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Colin Powell, Cheerleader for the Political Class, Should Join Arlen Specter in the Democratic Party
Colin Powell, the most overrated underperformer in recent political history, once again showed himself to be the opportunistic self aggrandizer he's been throughout his career.
The so-called "moderate Republican" who shamelessly endorsed the candidacy of Barack Obama, the man who is leading us towards a socialist-statist debacle that would make George Orwell apopletic, once again demonstrated that he is the cheerleader for the Democratic political class.
In a recent speech to corporate security executives, Powell proclaimed haughtily "the American people want MORE government, not LESS."
Mr. Powell apparently missed the 1 million Americans who demonstrated against more government at the April 15 Tax Day Tea Parties.
Time to leave the Republican Party officially, Mr. Powell.
We don't need socialist-statists like you in the party.
President Obama and his friends will be sure to welcome you with open arms. Why not ? You've been espousing the same anti free market policies for years.
You belong with the elite political class that controls the Democratic Party, those 30 percent of Democrats who believe in socialism, not capitalism.
Joseph Schumpeter predicted the arch of your career 70 years ago. Do the right thing and make it official now.
The so-called "moderate Republican" who shamelessly endorsed the candidacy of Barack Obama, the man who is leading us towards a socialist-statist debacle that would make George Orwell apopletic, once again demonstrated that he is the cheerleader for the Democratic political class.
In a recent speech to corporate security executives, Powell proclaimed haughtily "the American people want MORE government, not LESS."
Mr. Powell apparently missed the 1 million Americans who demonstrated against more government at the April 15 Tax Day Tea Parties.
Time to leave the Republican Party officially, Mr. Powell.
We don't need socialist-statists like you in the party.
President Obama and his friends will be sure to welcome you with open arms. Why not ? You've been espousing the same anti free market policies for years.
You belong with the elite political class that controls the Democratic Party, those 30 percent of Democrats who believe in socialism, not capitalism.
Joseph Schumpeter predicted the arch of your career 70 years ago. Do the right thing and make it official now.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Nationwide Tea Party Leaders Accept Invitation To Meet With President Obama
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS:
Michael Patrick Leahy
(615) 243-6869
Kellen E. Giuda
(786) 525-6984
James Dickey
(469)767-7728
New York, New York – April 29th, 2009 - The National Leadership Team
of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition
(www.nationwideteapartycoalition.com) today accepted
President Obama's invitation "to have a serious conversation about
how we are going to cut our health care costs down over the long
term, how we are going to stabilize Social Security.”
The invitation was extended by the President at a Town Hall Meeting
held in Arnold, Missouri today
(as reported at Politico).
Michael Patrick Leahy, a member of the National Leadership Team of
the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, said " We want to broaden the
scope to address the President's runaway march to socialist-statism,
and the rampant across the board irresponsible spending he is
promoting with his $787 Billion Stimulus Plan and his $1 Trillion
Annual Deficit, his takeover of General Motors, Chrysler and the
Banks "
Kellen Giuda, organizer of the New York City C Tea party attended by
12,000 and of Parcbench (http://www.parcbench.com) said, “I think a
constructive dialogue with the President would be a great
opportunity for him to acknowledge that, yes, many Americans have a
problem with the way Washington is handling our taxpayer dollars and
also that we are concerned about health care and social security
reform. I am happy he is open to a discussion. The Tea Parties are
protesting against fiscal irresponsibility and any dialogue we can
have will hopefully bring a better public understanding of our
country's finances. Health care and social security reform is a
large concern to us."
The National Leadership Team of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition
includes 25 of the more than 900 local organizers of the April 15,
2009 Tax Day Tea Parties held across the country, which were
attended by more than 1 million Americans. Members of the National
Leadership Team includes Judson Phillips, organizer of the Nashville
Tea Party attended by 10,000, James Dickey, organizer of the Dallas
Tea Party, attended by 5,000, and JoAnn Abbot, organizer of the
Washington, DC Tea Party attended by more than 3,000.
The full list of the 25 members of the National Leadership Team of
the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition can be found at
The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition web site
CONTACTS:
Michael Patrick Leahy
(615) 243-6869
Kellen E. Giuda
(786) 525-6984
James Dickey
(469)767-7728
New York, New York – April 29th, 2009 - The National Leadership Team
of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition
(www.nationwideteapartycoalition.com) today accepted
President Obama's invitation "to have a serious conversation about
how we are going to cut our health care costs down over the long
term, how we are going to stabilize Social Security.”
The invitation was extended by the President at a Town Hall Meeting
held in Arnold, Missouri today
(as reported at Politico).
Michael Patrick Leahy, a member of the National Leadership Team of
the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, said " We want to broaden the
scope to address the President's runaway march to socialist-statism,
and the rampant across the board irresponsible spending he is
promoting with his $787 Billion Stimulus Plan and his $1 Trillion
Annual Deficit, his takeover of General Motors, Chrysler and the
Banks "
Kellen Giuda, organizer of the New York City C Tea party attended by
12,000 and of Parcbench (http://www.parcbench.com) said, “I think a
constructive dialogue with the President would be a great
opportunity for him to acknowledge that, yes, many Americans have a
problem with the way Washington is handling our taxpayer dollars and
also that we are concerned about health care and social security
reform. I am happy he is open to a discussion. The Tea Parties are
protesting against fiscal irresponsibility and any dialogue we can
have will hopefully bring a better public understanding of our
country's finances. Health care and social security reform is a
large concern to us."
The National Leadership Team of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition
includes 25 of the more than 900 local organizers of the April 15,
2009 Tax Day Tea Parties held across the country, which were
attended by more than 1 million Americans. Members of the National
Leadership Team includes Judson Phillips, organizer of the Nashville
Tea Party attended by 10,000, James Dickey, organizer of the Dallas
Tea Party, attended by 5,000, and JoAnn Abbot, organizer of the
Washington, DC Tea Party attended by more than 3,000.
The full list of the 25 members of the National Leadership Team of
the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition can be found at
The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition web site
Saturday, April 25, 2009
The Bill of Federalism: 10 Amendments to be Proposed to the States for Ratification
Professor Randy Barnett of Georgetown University sets forth a bold new proposal:
The Bill of Federalism: 10 Amendments to be Proposed to the States for Ratification.
You can read this draft document in full when it is posted within the next 24 hours at the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition website.
The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition is providing support and assistance to Professor Barnett as he reads and reviews public comments on The Bill of Federalism.
We anticipate a final version of The Bill of Federalism will be completed within 60 days.
We encourage all citizens who are interested in the future of our republic, and who which to stop our slide into socialism, to comment on this document, and to enlist their friends and neighbors in this effort.
Upon completion of the final version of The Bill of Federalism, we will encourage selected state legislators to introduce a bill to petition Congress to Convene a Constitutional Convention for the purpose of passing The Bill of Federalism, thereafter sending it to the states for ratification.
If 2/3 of the states petition Congress to hold a Constitutional Convention, Congress must convene one. Alternatively, Congress may pass The Bill of Federalism on its own, and submit it to the states for ratification.
Upon ratification of The Bill of Federalism by 3/4 of the states, after passage by either the Congress or a Constitutional Convention, it will become part of the United States Constitution.
Professor Barnett will discuss his draft of The Bill of Federalism with all 26 members of the National Leadership Team of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition LIVE on Pajamas TV at 6pm EDT, 3pm PDT, this Monday, April 27.
The Bill of Federalism: 10 Amendments to be Proposed to the States for Ratification.
You can read this draft document in full when it is posted within the next 24 hours at the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition website.
The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition is providing support and assistance to Professor Barnett as he reads and reviews public comments on The Bill of Federalism.
We anticipate a final version of The Bill of Federalism will be completed within 60 days.
We encourage all citizens who are interested in the future of our republic, and who which to stop our slide into socialism, to comment on this document, and to enlist their friends and neighbors in this effort.
Upon completion of the final version of The Bill of Federalism, we will encourage selected state legislators to introduce a bill to petition Congress to Convene a Constitutional Convention for the purpose of passing The Bill of Federalism, thereafter sending it to the states for ratification.
If 2/3 of the states petition Congress to hold a Constitutional Convention, Congress must convene one. Alternatively, Congress may pass The Bill of Federalism on its own, and submit it to the states for ratification.
Upon ratification of The Bill of Federalism by 3/4 of the states, after passage by either the Congress or a Constitutional Convention, it will become part of the United States Constitution.
Professor Barnett will discuss his draft of The Bill of Federalism with all 26 members of the National Leadership Team of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition LIVE on Pajamas TV at 6pm EDT, 3pm PDT, this Monday, April 27.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Chris Matthews Proves He's An Irrelevant Windbag
Add Chris Matthews to the list of irrelevant windbags who make false claims about the Tea Party Movement without doing any research to investigate their bloviated and incorrect assertions.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Pajamas TV and my new show TCOT on PJTV
It's been a fast moving few weeks, with www.taxdayteaparty.com here in 1 week.
Tuesday of last week, March 31, Pajamas TV launched a new program, TCOT on PJTV, with yours truly as the host. You can check it out here. I've been in Los Angeles filming since then, but head back to Nashville on Saturday.
Then on Wednesday, April 15, it's up to Knoxville to co-host live coverage Tax Day Tea Party with Glenn Reynolds, of instapundit.com fame.
Tuesday of last week, March 31, Pajamas TV launched a new program, TCOT on PJTV, with yours truly as the host. You can check it out here. I've been in Los Angeles filming since then, but head back to Nashville on Saturday.
Then on Wednesday, April 15, it's up to Knoxville to co-host live coverage Tax Day Tea Party with Glenn Reynolds, of instapundit.com fame.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
On the Laura Ingraham Radio Show at 11:30 AM Today
Los Angeles based conservative talk radio host Tammy Bruce will be guest hosting the Laura Ingraham Radio Show today. I will be on the Laura Ingraham Radio Show at 11:30 AM today to talk Tea Parties with guest host Tammy Bruce.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Liberal Pranks Continue - Someone Keeps Submitting Name of Digg.com Founder Kevin Rose to Top Conservatives on Twitter List
Somewhere out there in the Twitterverse resides a liberal with an odd sense of humor.
Periodically the Twitter ID of Kevin Rose, the very liberal founder of Digg.com is submitted for inclusion to our list of Top Conservatives on Twitter. Since Mr. Rose has 250,000 followers, this puts him at the top of our list, which many of the conservative members of our list (now with over 3,600 members) find more than a bit curious.
We, of course, remove the Twitter ID of Mr. Rose from the list, on the assumption that he has not converted to the conservative cause.
Our assumption is that he is not the one submitting his Twitter ID to be added.
Here's my tweet to him this morning on the topic:
@KevinRose Someone claiming to be you keeps adding your id to our list http://www.topconservatives... Are you aware ? #tcot
We'll let you know what kind of response we receive !
Periodically the Twitter ID of Kevin Rose, the very liberal founder of Digg.com is submitted for inclusion to our list of Top Conservatives on Twitter. Since Mr. Rose has 250,000 followers, this puts him at the top of our list, which many of the conservative members of our list (now with over 3,600 members) find more than a bit curious.
We, of course, remove the Twitter ID of Mr. Rose from the list, on the assumption that he has not converted to the conservative cause.
Our assumption is that he is not the one submitting his Twitter ID to be added.
Here's my tweet to him this morning on the topic:
@KevinRose Someone claiming to be you keeps adding your id to our list http://www.topconservatives... Are you aware ? #tcot
We'll let you know what kind of response we receive !
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Why Do Smart People Pick Fights That Don't Help Them ?
In the category of:
What were they thinking ?
Why did President Obama insult and humiliate British Prime Minister Brown this week? The United Kingdom is our strongest ally, and Brown is a socialist like Obama. You would think they would be friends and that Obama would do everything he could to raise the stature of his ideological and international ally.
Can you say "hubris" ?
And then comes Michael Steele.
Just wondering why he thought picking a fight with Rush Limbaugh made any sense at all. There are lots of people to pick fights with, but the leading conservative talk show host who just gave a stirring defense of conservativism at the CPAC Conference ?
Can you say "why" ?
What were they thinking ?
Why did President Obama insult and humiliate British Prime Minister Brown this week? The United Kingdom is our strongest ally, and Brown is a socialist like Obama. You would think they would be friends and that Obama would do everything he could to raise the stature of his ideological and international ally.
Can you say "hubris" ?
And then comes Michael Steele.
Just wondering why he thought picking a fight with Rush Limbaugh made any sense at all. There are lots of people to pick fights with, but the leading conservative talk show host who just gave a stirring defense of conservativism at the CPAC Conference ?
Can you say "why" ?
Thursday, February 26, 2009
MSNBC TV Scheduled to Interview Me Tomorrow 9:30 AM EST About the Nationwide Chicago Tea Party Taking Place at Noon Tomorrow in 45 Cities !
In the category of.... when it rains, it pours.... comes this.
Just finished watching Neil Cavuto's great interview with the organizer of the New York City Tea Party, then jumped on the RNC Grassroots Conference call run so well by internet genius David All.
When the cell phone rang (well, buzzed actually) and showed a 212 area code, I thought David wouldn't mind if I left the call to answer.
Good move.
Turns out it was a very nice producer from MSNBC confirming a live interview at 9:30 am EST tomorrow to talk about tomorrow's Nationwide Chicago Tea Party.
Tune in and let me know how you think it goes!
At the very least, more publicity for the now 50 and growing tea parties scheduled to take place around the country.
Our theme ?
Our message to Congress is simple: Repeal the Pork or Retire !
Just finished watching Neil Cavuto's great interview with the organizer of the New York City Tea Party, then jumped on the RNC Grassroots Conference call run so well by internet genius David All.
When the cell phone rang (well, buzzed actually) and showed a 212 area code, I thought David wouldn't mind if I left the call to answer.
Good move.
Turns out it was a very nice producer from MSNBC confirming a live interview at 9:30 am EST tomorrow to talk about tomorrow's Nationwide Chicago Tea Party.
Tune in and let me know how you think it goes!
At the very least, more publicity for the now 50 and growing tea parties scheduled to take place around the country.
Our theme ?
Our message to Congress is simple: Repeal the Pork or Retire !
How to Create a "Plan B" Tea Party
If you live in a city where an organized local tea party as part of tomorrow's www.nationwidechicagoteaparty is not currently planned, you still have time to organize a local "Plan B" Tea Party and be an important part of this national event. Here's what you do.
1. Appoint yourself as the local "Plan B" Tea Party organizer.
2. Reserve a table or private room at your favorite local restaurant. Preferably one with a WIFI connection.
3. Create a Facebook Event announcing your "Plan B" Tea Party. Try and have the time as close to noon EST Friday February 27 as possible.
4. Send me the link to your event in a comment here. Also, go to www.nationwidechicagoteaparty and follow the link to the main Facebook event we have created. "Attend" that event as a Maybe. Then POST your link to the Facebook Wall of that event. We will move it up to the main page for you.
5. Invite half a dozen or a dozen of your friends to the restaurant.
6. Tell everyone to bring their digital cameras, cell phones and laptops.
7. Join our Conference Call at 5 pm CST tonight. You can get the call in # by joining this ning group: http://tcotprojects.ning.com . Search today's events for the call in #.
8. Issue a Press Release to the local media.
9. Tomorrow, at the restaurant, follow the events of the day on Twitter using the #teaparty hashtag. Send live tweets. Send pics of your event. Call in our audio lines.
10. Send a message to @TCOTTV on Twitter. Ask to get the YouTube announcement. Retweet that announcement.
1. Appoint yourself as the local "Plan B" Tea Party organizer.
2. Reserve a table or private room at your favorite local restaurant. Preferably one with a WIFI connection.
3. Create a Facebook Event announcing your "Plan B" Tea Party. Try and have the time as close to noon EST Friday February 27 as possible.
4. Send me the link to your event in a comment here. Also, go to www.nationwidechicagoteaparty and follow the link to the main Facebook event we have created. "Attend" that event as a Maybe. Then POST your link to the Facebook Wall of that event. We will move it up to the main page for you.
5. Invite half a dozen or a dozen of your friends to the restaurant.
6. Tell everyone to bring their digital cameras, cell phones and laptops.
7. Join our Conference Call at 5 pm CST tonight. You can get the call in # by joining this ning group: http://tcotprojects.ning.com . Search today's events for the call in #.
8. Issue a Press Release to the local media.
9. Tomorrow, at the restaurant, follow the events of the day on Twitter using the #teaparty hashtag. Send live tweets. Send pics of your event. Call in our audio lines.
10. Send a message to @TCOTTV on Twitter. Ask to get the YouTube announcement. Retweet that announcement.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
#TCOT and online Conservatives Launch Nationwide Chicago Tea Party Friday February 27 at noon
Online conservative activists have rallied to CNBC’s Rick Santelli’s call yesterday, backed by mortgage traders, for a “Nationwide Chicago Tea Party” to protest the Obama Administration’s bailout plan.
Moving quickly, Top Conservatives on Twitter , Smart Girl Politics, the #Dontgo movement, Americans for Tax Reform, the Heartland Institute, and American Spectator Magazine joined forces to announce a “Nationwide Chicago Tea Party”, to be held on Friday, February 27 at noon EST.
The tea party will be held simultaneously in Chicago, Washington, DC, at dozens of locations around the US, and on Twitter, using the #teaparty hashtag.
Santelli’s criticism of the Obma mortgage plan is that it rewards the irresponsible, while penalizing the responsible.
As co-founder of Top Conservatives on Twitter, I believe it is very important that all conservatives move quickly and in collaboration to hold this event. In today’s world, the life cycle of political events moves very rapidly. There’s momentum out there surrounding Santelli’s call to protest yet another ill-advised bail-out of yet another group that has made bad decisions. Anyone who wants to join this event is invited to visit www.officialchicagoteaparty.com.
Moving quickly, Top Conservatives on Twitter , Smart Girl Politics, the #Dontgo movement, Americans for Tax Reform, the Heartland Institute, and American Spectator Magazine joined forces to announce a “Nationwide Chicago Tea Party”, to be held on Friday, February 27 at noon EST.
The tea party will be held simultaneously in Chicago, Washington, DC, at dozens of locations around the US, and on Twitter, using the #teaparty hashtag.
Santelli’s criticism of the Obma mortgage plan is that it rewards the irresponsible, while penalizing the responsible.
As co-founder of Top Conservatives on Twitter, I believe it is very important that all conservatives move quickly and in collaboration to hold this event. In today’s world, the life cycle of political events moves very rapidly. There’s momentum out there surrounding Santelli’s call to protest yet another ill-advised bail-out of yet another group that has made bad decisions. Anyone who wants to join this event is invited to visit www.officialchicagoteaparty.com.
RedState and Bloggers Track Bart Gordon's European Vacation
RedState, the nationally recognized conservative online publication, started tracking Bart Gordon's taxpayer funded European vacation yesterday.
The blogosphere seems equally interested in the liberal Democrat Congressman from Tennessee's excellent adventure:
Truman's Take , Voluntarily Conservative , RightyBlogs , Wikio ,Navy Wings , Red County , Green Change , But as for me , Conservative Ramblings , John Scott and The Washington Post are all following Bart Gordon's misadventures around Europe now.
Who's not reporting about Bart Gordon's taxpayer funded European vacation?
Bart Gordon's Office
All local Tennessee media
Bart Gordon's office continues to stonewall questions posed about his whereabouts. Numberous bloggers and constituents have phoned to confirm that he's currently on this European junket, but staffers continue to "neither confirm nor deny."
Geesh ! Sounds like Fifth Ammendment time a bit, doesn't it ?
As for the local Tennessee media, it seems rather odd to me that such an intriguing story -- "Local Congressman takes taxpayer funded junket to Europe, office refuses to confirm or deny his participation" -- has received zero attention.
Any readers of this blog have any ideas what the locals might need to pay attention to such a story ?
The blogosphere seems equally interested in the liberal Democrat Congressman from Tennessee's excellent adventure:
Truman's Take , Voluntarily Conservative , RightyBlogs , Wikio ,Navy Wings , Red County , Green Change , But as for me , Conservative Ramblings , John Scott and The Washington Post are all following Bart Gordon's misadventures around Europe now.
Who's not reporting about Bart Gordon's taxpayer funded European vacation?
Bart Gordon's Office
All local Tennessee media
Bart Gordon's office continues to stonewall questions posed about his whereabouts. Numberous bloggers and constituents have phoned to confirm that he's currently on this European junket, but staffers continue to "neither confirm nor deny."
Geesh ! Sounds like Fifth Ammendment time a bit, doesn't it ?
As for the local Tennessee media, it seems rather odd to me that such an intriguing story -- "Local Congressman takes taxpayer funded junket to Europe, office refuses to confirm or deny his participation" -- has received zero attention.
Any readers of this blog have any ideas what the locals might need to pay attention to such a story ?
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Curious Case of Bart Gordon
Bart Gordon, a liberal Democrat, has represented the Sixth Congressional District of Tennessee since 1985, when Al Gore moved up from representing this district in Congress to representing the entire state of Tennessee in the United States Senate.
In the subsequent 24 years, Gordon has distinguished himself primarily as the fastest man in Congress. And Gordon literally IS the fastest man in Congress, having won the Congressional three mile road race for a record 18 consecutive years. Each year his time has been under 6 minutes a mile, which is nothing to sneeze at, when you consider Gordon is now almost 60 years old.
Beyond that one accomplishment, and the fact that he routinely wins with no opposition in a largely Republican district, Gordon has accomplished very little other than support the traditional left wing liberal agenda in Congress.
Perhaps because his seat has been perceived as so safe, Mr. Gordon has been able to hone his running skills, and focus on other aspects of his life besides politics. Now comes Dave Evans, a resident of the Sixth Congressional District, and a Major General in the Army Reserve with a distinguished record of service, and a man who intends to secure the Republican nomination and give Gordon his first serious challenge in 2010 since Steve Gill almost knocked him off in 1994.
Call it hubris or overconfidence, Gordon has apparently given Evans a gift wrapped issue on which to run.
Though he serves on no Congressional Committee that has anything to do with Europe, Gordon has apparently joined his Tennessee Democrat pal John Tanner on a 9 day jaunt through Europe, from the 14th of this month to the 22nd. Arguably Tanner has reason to make this trip--He's President of the NATO Assembly of Parliamentarians, an organization that does appear to have some official function, however minimal. Gordon, however, is another matter.
Evans has jumped on this European junket issue, and so far, Gordon has failed to give an explanation as to why the taxpayers should be paying for his trip.
To be accurate, no one really has been able to confirm whether or not Gordon actually went on the trip. The Washington Post reported on February 12 that he was scheduled to attend, and a February 16 press release from the Tennessee State Republican Party criticized Gordon for being on the trip, but, curiously, Gordon's office refuses to confirm or deny whether he actually is in Europe now.
A series of volunteers have phoned Bart Gordon's Washington D.C. office asking for simple confirmation of Gordon's participation of the trip, and the hapless staffers responding to the questions have stonewalled their responses, saying they are not authorized to disclose where he is.
Such stonewalling, of course, plays right into Evans' game plan of criticizing Gordon for being aloof and out of touch. Plus, we might add, there is probably some sort of Congressional or Federal rule, law, or regulation which requires a Congressman's office to publicly disclose where he or she is when conducting official business at taxpayers' expense.
Gordon's website happily touts every speech or public appearance he makes in the district that promotes his own visibility. Oddly, no public statement has been forthcoming to date from his office even confirming whether he is or is not currently in Europe on "taxpayer funded business."
Evans is playing it smart by asking for a public statement from Gordon that addresses two issues:
1. Is he travelling to Europe now at taxpayers' expense ?
2. If he is in Europe, what possible justification does he have for wasting taxpayers' money to fly him over there and pay for his meals and lodging ?
You would think that, given the current economic "crisis" and the urgency with which the Democrats rushed through the monstrous $787 billion "stimulus" bill, that some local Tennessee newspapers, radio stations, or television stations might do a little investigative journalism and simply ask Bart Gordon if he actually is in Europe, and if he is, why is he in Europe ?
Perhaps it's ennui or just plain ol laziness, but to date, none of these intrepid muckrakers have risen to the occasion.
Given Newschannel 5's functioning of late as a virtual extension of the Barack Obama Communications Department, that's not much of a surprise. Perhaps some adventurous small local newspaper will hop on the story. More likely, it's a challenge that the inquisitive bloggers of Tennessee will take up.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
My brother, Tom Leahy, says Lincoln would not be happy with the bailout
My brother, Tom Leahy, teaches fourth grade in Kansas. A few weeks ago, he was invited to address the Kansas State Senate.
Here's the full article with his comments at that event.
I was particularly impressed with his comments about what he thought Lincoln might say about some current political issues.
The Topeka newspaper reported his comments as follows:
He also said the nation's 16th president probably wouldn't be enthusiastic about federal bailout legislation endorsed by Presidents George Bush and Barack Obama. Lincoln, who had 18 months of formal education, emerged from personal and professional disaster without handouts, he said.
"He bailed himself out many times," Leahy said. "He would not be happy."
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Happy 200th Birthday, Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Darwin, and Great-Great Grandpa Andrew Leahy
February 12, 1809.
Three men of great importance to me were born on this day.
Abraham Lincoln was born in a lean to cabin in rural Kentucky.
Charles Darwin was born on an estate in England.
And my great-great grandfather, Andrew Leahy, was born in modest circumstances somewhere in the south of Ireland. I used to think it was County Kerry, but now I think it may have been County Cork or Tipperary.
Well, almost.
The Lincoln and Darwin birthdates are confirmed.
The Andrew Leahy birth date is possible, but uncertain. He was born between February 22, 1808 and February 21, 1809. I like to think it was February 12, 1809.
Senator Patrick Leahy and I are both great-great grandsons of Andrew Leahy.
Given our divergent political philosophies, there's a clever comment to be made here, but it's late and I've used up my clever quips for the day.
Perhaps the regular readers of this blog could offer clever quips in the comments section.
Three men of great importance to me were born on this day.
Abraham Lincoln was born in a lean to cabin in rural Kentucky.
Charles Darwin was born on an estate in England.
And my great-great grandfather, Andrew Leahy, was born in modest circumstances somewhere in the south of Ireland. I used to think it was County Kerry, but now I think it may have been County Cork or Tipperary.
Well, almost.
The Lincoln and Darwin birthdates are confirmed.
The Andrew Leahy birth date is possible, but uncertain. He was born between February 22, 1808 and February 21, 1809. I like to think it was February 12, 1809.
Senator Patrick Leahy and I are both great-great grandsons of Andrew Leahy.
Given our divergent political philosophies, there's a clever comment to be made here, but it's late and I've used up my clever quips for the day.
Perhaps the regular readers of this blog could offer clever quips in the comments section.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
#TCOT Continues to Dominate Twitter Hashtags
A brief review of www.hashtags.org data for February month to date statistics of hashtag usage on Twitter shows that the conservative hashtag #TCOT (used by the Top Conservatives on Twitter community for online dialogues) continues to dominate the Twitter conversation.
For the 10 day period covering February 1 to February 10, the Top 3 hashtags (counting total number of 140 character Twitter updates or "tweets" using that hashtag) are as follows:
1. #TCOT with 16,500
2. #uksnow with 9,500
3. #Superbowl with 8,500
#TCOT is almost twice as often used in identifying a tweet as the second most used hashtag on all of Twitter!
Someone might want to let the folks at Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco in on this relevant piece of factual information.
Since about January 22, the #TCOT hashtag has been removed from the top ten "trending topics" lists that shows up on Twitter when you go to http://search.twitter.com
Some have argued that this list only shows percentage change in usage over a one hour or 24 hour period of time, and that explains the absence of #TCOT from the list.
Perhaps.
How then, can the failure to include #TCOT from the list on February 6, when #TCOT hashtag usage jumped to 2,402 from the previous day's 1,982? That's a daily increase of 420 !
An analysis of any given day's Twitter "trending list" shows that some hashtags on the list fail to reach 420 TOTAL during the entire day.
I wonder what's going on at Twitter Headquarters, and why #TCOT has been banned from the Twitter "trending list" ?
For the 10 day period covering February 1 to February 10, the Top 3 hashtags (counting total number of 140 character Twitter updates or "tweets" using that hashtag) are as follows:
1. #TCOT with 16,500
2. #uksnow with 9,500
3. #Superbowl with 8,500
#TCOT is almost twice as often used in identifying a tweet as the second most used hashtag on all of Twitter!
Someone might want to let the folks at Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco in on this relevant piece of factual information.
Since about January 22, the #TCOT hashtag has been removed from the top ten "trending topics" lists that shows up on Twitter when you go to http://search.twitter.com
Some have argued that this list only shows percentage change in usage over a one hour or 24 hour period of time, and that explains the absence of #TCOT from the list.
Perhaps.
How then, can the failure to include #TCOT from the list on February 6, when #TCOT hashtag usage jumped to 2,402 from the previous day's 1,982? That's a daily increase of 420 !
An analysis of any given day's Twitter "trending list" shows that some hashtags on the list fail to reach 420 TOTAL during the entire day.
I wonder what's going on at Twitter Headquarters, and why #TCOT has been banned from the Twitter "trending list" ?
Monday, February 09, 2009
"As Maine Goes, So Goes PORKULUS"
Since the 1840's Maine has been considered a bellweather state.
Until the mid-twentieth century, the state of Maine held elections for state-wide offices in September. Often, these results were considered an indication of where the country would go in the November elections.
After Maine went for Republican Benjamin Harrison in 1888, giving him an electoral college victory over Grover Cleveland despite losing the popular vote, an unknown journalist coined the famous phrase.
"As Maine goes, so goes the nation."
Forty eight years later, in 1936, only Maine and Vermont voted for Republican Alf Landon in the FDR landslide. This prompted FDR Campaign Manager James Farley to revis the old saying. His version went as follows:
"As Maine goes, so goes Vermont."
Fast forward now to 2009. 38 Republican Senators plan to vote no on PORKULUS. 3 -- Specter of PA, & Snowe and Collins of Maine -- have publicly stated they will vote yes on PORKULUS.
As only 40 votes are needed for the Republicans to maintain a filibuster and keep PORKULUS from coming to a final vote in the Senate, the math is clear. If Snowe and Collins of Maine join their Republican colleagues, PORKULUS can be successfully stopped with a filibuster.
The vote is currently planned for Tuesday.
This prompts me to revise the old saying about Maine as follows:
"As Maine goes, so goes PORKULUS."
If you would like to encourage Senators Collins and Snowe to do the right thing and VOTE NO on PORKULUS, please do the following 2 things today.
1. Take the #TCOT Challenge now. The #TCOT Challenge is simple. Will the personal economies of residents of Maine be better off if all income taxes in 2009 are cut in half, or if the wasteful PORKULUS bill passes?
2. Call Senators Collins and Snowe and report the results of the #TCOT Challenge. Cutting taxes will create jobs in Maine now. Porkulus will do very little now, and increase interest and debt payments dramatically in future years.
Until the mid-twentieth century, the state of Maine held elections for state-wide offices in September. Often, these results were considered an indication of where the country would go in the November elections.
After Maine went for Republican Benjamin Harrison in 1888, giving him an electoral college victory over Grover Cleveland despite losing the popular vote, an unknown journalist coined the famous phrase.
"As Maine goes, so goes the nation."
Forty eight years later, in 1936, only Maine and Vermont voted for Republican Alf Landon in the FDR landslide. This prompted FDR Campaign Manager James Farley to revis the old saying. His version went as follows:
"As Maine goes, so goes Vermont."
Fast forward now to 2009. 38 Republican Senators plan to vote no on PORKULUS. 3 -- Specter of PA, & Snowe and Collins of Maine -- have publicly stated they will vote yes on PORKULUS.
As only 40 votes are needed for the Republicans to maintain a filibuster and keep PORKULUS from coming to a final vote in the Senate, the math is clear. If Snowe and Collins of Maine join their Republican colleagues, PORKULUS can be successfully stopped with a filibuster.
The vote is currently planned for Tuesday.
This prompts me to revise the old saying about Maine as follows:
"As Maine goes, so goes PORKULUS."
If you would like to encourage Senators Collins and Snowe to do the right thing and VOTE NO on PORKULUS, please do the following 2 things today.
1. Take the #TCOT Challenge now. The #TCOT Challenge is simple. Will the personal economies of residents of Maine be better off if all income taxes in 2009 are cut in half, or if the wasteful PORKULUS bill passes?
2. Call Senators Collins and Snowe and report the results of the #TCOT Challenge. Cutting taxes will create jobs in Maine now. Porkulus will do very little now, and increase interest and debt payments dramatically in future years.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
How a South Dakota Family Would Spend the Taxes Saved Under the #TCOT Plan
1) Our family would use the extra money from the reduced with holdings to help pay for our oldest child's college tuition and to do some projects around our house including installing a fireplace in our living room and finishing the kitchenette / bar in our rec. room
There is no doubt this plan would improve the economy beyond measure. People, including my husband and I, are holding onto our money because of the level of uncertainty being created in this current atmosphere. Because it appears the Democratically controlled Congress & White House plan to push through all kinds of programs and regulations that will hurt the economy and not help it AND we're printing and borrowing money like there is literally no tomorrow, we're afraid our dollar will be so devalued we will have to make some serious cuts. We're concerned about a looming threat to our totally reliable health insurance if there is a push for Universal Healthcare, and finally we are expecting a serious cut in our income because there is no pledge to make those tax cuts from 2003 permanent. We will jump to 28%.
More than anything, the uncertainty is freezing this economy.
2. In order to pay for the proposed plan and deal with our already crushing debt, we need to cut spending ACROSS THE BOARD!
The Federal government is far too large, intrusive, and bloated. That is a relevant question, despite what we've been told.
In addition to the TCOT plan proposed I must add that tax cuts and spending cuts across the board are not enough.
If government regulation of the private sector is not examined in a serious way and reformed, underlying problems that stifle growth will continue to plague us.
In some areas, there is far too much regulation - i.e. energy exploration and extraction and one of the primary causes of the current "crisis", mortgage lending.
In other areas, there is not the right kind of regulation - SEC.
There is no doubt this plan would improve the economy beyond measure. People, including my husband and I, are holding onto our money because of the level of uncertainty being created in this current atmosphere. Because it appears the Democratically controlled Congress & White House plan to push through all kinds of programs and regulations that will hurt the economy and not help it AND we're printing and borrowing money like there is literally no tomorrow, we're afraid our dollar will be so devalued we will have to make some serious cuts. We're concerned about a looming threat to our totally reliable health insurance if there is a push for Universal Healthcare, and finally we are expecting a serious cut in our income because there is no pledge to make those tax cuts from 2003 permanent. We will jump to 28%.
More than anything, the uncertainty is freezing this economy.
2. In order to pay for the proposed plan and deal with our already crushing debt, we need to cut spending ACROSS THE BOARD!
The Federal government is far too large, intrusive, and bloated. That is a relevant question, despite what we've been told.
In addition to the TCOT plan proposed I must add that tax cuts and spending cuts across the board are not enough.
If government regulation of the private sector is not examined in a serious way and reformed, underlying problems that stifle growth will continue to plague us.
In some areas, there is far too much regulation - i.e. energy exploration and extraction and one of the primary causes of the current "crisis", mortgage lending.
In other areas, there is not the right kind of regulation - SEC.
Friday, February 06, 2009
How one member of #TCOT would use the tax savings in the #TCOT Plan to boost the economy personally !
1. How would you use the extra cash you received under this plan during 2009, and would it, in your opinion, improve the economy more than PORKULUS ?
1) Eliminate small amount of non-mortgage debt, then would probably buy new Ford Flex; invest in low risk short term funds for son’s college in 5 years from now; additional savings and investment via dollar cost averaging; possibly take second traditional mortgage for 2nd home/future retirement home.
2) My small business (professional services corporation) would like hire a new associate (physician) . Our medical center would likely lift hiring freeze, raise health care worker salaries, accelerate $100M/5 yr capital plan.
3) The owner of our for-profit hospital system would likely lift hiring freezes, increase pay, improve facilities in the system that now employs 90,000 people.
2. What would be the best way to deal with the increased federal deficit envisioned under this plan ?
a. Cut spending across the board
A #TCOT member from Spokane, Washington
1) Eliminate small amount of non-mortgage debt, then would probably buy new Ford Flex; invest in low risk short term funds for son’s college in 5 years from now; additional savings and investment via dollar cost averaging; possibly take second traditional mortgage for 2nd home/future retirement home.
2) My small business (professional services corporation) would like hire a new associate (physician) . Our medical center would likely lift hiring freeze, raise health care worker salaries, accelerate $100M/5 yr capital plan.
3) The owner of our for-profit hospital system would likely lift hiring freezes, increase pay, improve facilities in the system that now employs 90,000 people.
2. What would be the best way to deal with the increased federal deficit envisioned under this plan ?
a. Cut spending across the board
A #TCOT member from Spokane, Washington
The #TCOT Plan : Cut All Personal and Corporate Income Taxes in Half Immediately for 12 months of 2009
Both the Congressional Budget Office and the Heritage Foundation have recently documented how ineffective President Obama's proposed $900 billion and growing "Porkulus" political spoils spending bill will be at improving the economy. In a column today, Charles Krauthammer provided the "coup de grace" by decimating the fear promoting "urgency for pork now" arguments of the President.
As co-founder of Top Conservatives on Twitter, I am today proposing "The #TCOT Plan" as a far superior plan that will immediately revive the economy. I am laying out the key component of the plan here, and am asking members of #TCOT to provide their input on additional components of the plan in comments here on this blog and at The TCOT Report.
The plan is simple:
1. Immediately cut all personal and corporate income taxes in half for all 12 months of 2009.
This plan could be implemented immediately as follows:
1. All employers would be instructed to immediately cut the amount of Federal Income Tax withholdings in half, beginning in next pay cycle beginning March 1.
2. Corporations that pay income taxes quarterly would pay half their corporate taxes in their next quarterly filing, for the period ending March 31.
Lost revenue over the 2009 Calendar year would be approximately $800 billion (A full $900 billion less than the current version of PORKULUS floating through the Senate). This is based on 2007 Federal personal income tax receipts of approximately 1.2 trillion, and Corporate income tax receipts of approximately $345 billion.
The estimated $1.6 trillion of personal and corporate income tax receipts for 2009 under this plan would, on initial review, be cut to $800 billion. However, given the economic stimulative effect that tax reductions would have on the economy (as the famous Laffer Curve demonstrated), actual receipts under this plan would probably exceed $800 billion, though by how much we'll leave for Dr. Laffer and his colleagues to calculate.
Assuming about $3 trillion in actual Federal spending for 2009, set against about $2.7 trillion in projected receipts, we could anticipate the federal deficit under this plan would increase from about $300 billion to something less than $1.1 trillion.
The questions for #TCOT members to comment on are as follows:
1. How would you use the extra cash you received under this plan during 2009, and would it, in your opinion, improve the economy more than PORKULUS ?
2. What would be the best way to deal with the increased federal deficit envisioned under this plan ?
a. Cut spending across the board
b. Borrow the difference, just as President Obama would have us do with PORKULUS
c. Cut spending some, and borrow some
Please comment here directly. All comments will be posted in the comment section at The TCOT Report
I would also ask that you send a link with this plan to every Economist, Radio Talk Show Host, and member of Congress you know, and ask them the same, simple question:
Which plan will help the economy more ?
1. Porkulus
or
2. The #TCOT Plan
As co-founder of Top Conservatives on Twitter, I am today proposing "The #TCOT Plan" as a far superior plan that will immediately revive the economy. I am laying out the key component of the plan here, and am asking members of #TCOT to provide their input on additional components of the plan in comments here on this blog and at The TCOT Report.
The plan is simple:
1. Immediately cut all personal and corporate income taxes in half for all 12 months of 2009.
This plan could be implemented immediately as follows:
1. All employers would be instructed to immediately cut the amount of Federal Income Tax withholdings in half, beginning in next pay cycle beginning March 1.
2. Corporations that pay income taxes quarterly would pay half their corporate taxes in their next quarterly filing, for the period ending March 31.
Lost revenue over the 2009 Calendar year would be approximately $800 billion (A full $900 billion less than the current version of PORKULUS floating through the Senate). This is based on 2007 Federal personal income tax receipts of approximately 1.2 trillion, and Corporate income tax receipts of approximately $345 billion.
The estimated $1.6 trillion of personal and corporate income tax receipts for 2009 under this plan would, on initial review, be cut to $800 billion. However, given the economic stimulative effect that tax reductions would have on the economy (as the famous Laffer Curve demonstrated), actual receipts under this plan would probably exceed $800 billion, though by how much we'll leave for Dr. Laffer and his colleagues to calculate.
Assuming about $3 trillion in actual Federal spending for 2009, set against about $2.7 trillion in projected receipts, we could anticipate the federal deficit under this plan would increase from about $300 billion to something less than $1.1 trillion.
The questions for #TCOT members to comment on are as follows:
1. How would you use the extra cash you received under this plan during 2009, and would it, in your opinion, improve the economy more than PORKULUS ?
2. What would be the best way to deal with the increased federal deficit envisioned under this plan ?
a. Cut spending across the board
b. Borrow the difference, just as President Obama would have us do with PORKULUS
c. Cut spending some, and borrow some
Please comment here directly. All comments will be posted in the comment section at The TCOT Report
I would also ask that you send a link with this plan to every Economist, Radio Talk Show Host, and member of Congress you know, and ask them the same, simple question:
Which plan will help the economy more ?
1. Porkulus
or
2. The #TCOT Plan
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
#TCOT to Senate Republicans: NO to Porkulus, NO to Compromise, NO to Turncoats
Led by Top Conservatives on Twitter (#TCOT) Project Servant-Leader Wendy Herman, a work-at-home mom from Corpus Christi, Texas, #TCOT's MOVE OVER MoveOn.org project focused today on defeating the "Porkulus" Bill in the Senate (S.1), in any form.
#TCOT intends to communicate that message to all 41 Republican Senators in the most direct way today and through the rest of the week. We know that Senate Majority Leader Democrat Harry Reid is trying to ram this bad bill through the Senate without a sufficient discussion of all the truly wasteful mini bail-outs to the Democrat Party's political allies it contains.
Read the rest of the story here at the TCOT Report
Monday, February 02, 2009
UK's Telegraph Reports on #TCOT -- Conservatives on Twitter -- But Gets It Wrong
As if we didn't have enough problems with the American Mainstream Media covering the conservative netroots movement properly.
Now comes an article from Britain's Telegraph claiming that despite the success of Top Conservatives on Twitter (#TCOT) liberals still dominate Twitter
Au contraire.
#TCOT now dominates the world of Twitter hashtags.
Want evidence ?
Try this out for size.
In January, 2009, www.hashtags.org reports that the #1 used hashtag on Twitter for the month was #TCOT.
18,000 tweets using #TCOT were sent out in the 31 days of January. But hashtags.org actually failed to count #TCOT tweets on 9 of those 31 days !
Second place in use of hashtags ?
The second place finisher had fewer than #6,000 tweets.
I would call that conservative domination of the Twitter conversation for the month of January, 2009, wouldn't you ?
Now comes an article from Britain's Telegraph claiming that despite the success of Top Conservatives on Twitter (#TCOT) liberals still dominate Twitter
Au contraire.
#TCOT now dominates the world of Twitter hashtags.
Want evidence ?
Try this out for size.
In January, 2009, www.hashtags.org reports that the #1 used hashtag on Twitter for the month was #TCOT.
18,000 tweets using #TCOT were sent out in the 31 days of January. But hashtags.org actually failed to count #TCOT tweets on 9 of those 31 days !
Second place in use of hashtags ?
The second place finisher had fewer than #6,000 tweets.
I would call that conservative domination of the Twitter conversation for the month of January, 2009, wouldn't you ?
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sharon Day for Secretary of the Republican National Committee: An Open Letter to all 168 RNC Members
To the members of the Republican National Committee:
As co-founder of the conservative grass roots movement known as #TCOT (Top Conservatives on Twitter I am happy to present you with a list of 155 members of our organization (with enthusiastic comments) who are publicly supporting Sharon Day's candidacy for RNC Secretary.
Founded in November of 2008, TCOT has rapidly grown into one of the leading conservative movements on the web, aimed at bringing conservatives together to build a stronger Republican Party.
On January 30, you will be voting for the future of the Republican National Committee when you elect our new RNC officers. Today, we humbly ask for your vote for Sharon Day as our next Secretary of the Republican National Committee.
As conservative online grassroots activists, we believe the future of the Republican Party should be in the hands of leaders like Sharon. From day one of her campaign for Secretary, Sharon has made technology a cornerstone of her campaign with an active blog, a strong presence on Facebook and by continuing to be one of the Top Conservatives on Twitter. She has made it her top priority to work with the next Chairman of the RNC to establish the technology necessary to win in 2010 and beyond.
Sharon is committed to steering the Republican Party back towards the conservative principles of Ronald Reagan and once again becoming the Party of big ideas.
As the leaders in the online conservative movement, we trust that you will see for yourself the amazing work Sharon has already done to strengthen the Republican Party as a National Committeewoman, a community leader and a phenomenal grassroots activist and vote her the next Secretary of the RNC.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Michael Patrick Leahy, Co-Founder of Top Conservatives on Twitter
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Obama Fails to Preserve, Protect, and Defend the Constitution from Day One
When now President Barack Obama flubbed the lines of the inaugural oath yesterday (with a little help from Chief Justice Roberts) the symbolism of the stumble did not escape notice from those of us who doubt his devotion to the Constitution.
Ultimately, however, President Obama did promise to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, just as all of his predecessors have.
It's Day One of his administration, and he's already failed in his duty to preserve, protect, and defend the document that binds us together as a nation.
Read the rest of this article
here
Ultimately, however, President Obama did promise to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, just as all of his predecessors have.
It's Day One of his administration, and he's already failed in his duty to preserve, protect, and defend the document that binds us together as a nation.
Read the rest of this article
here
Friday, January 09, 2009
Statement of Principles for #TCOT, Conservative "NetRoots" Organization
The 4 C's of the #TCOT Community (Top Conservatives on Twitter) are:
1. Conservatism
2. Collaboration
3. Constructive Dialogue
4. Community
Here's what we mean by each of these 4 C's:
1. Conservatism -- We believe in the return to the concept of limited government in the United States. We support (1) limited government (2) free markets (3) individual liberty (4) a strong national defense. *
2. Collaboration -- We believe that advances in technology allow for incredible opportunities for collaboration between like minded groups. We seek and respond to opportunities to collaborate with any conservative group or organization. Within #TCOT, we support collaborative efforts through the use of self organizing work groups based on the principles of Project Servant-Leadership. We believe that once hearts and minds are committed to a cause, time and treasure will follow.
3. Constructive Dialogue -- We believe in the power of ideas, and that coordial and direct dialogue, in which good manners complement good logic, will yield the best answers to problems. Constructive dialogue means we refrain from the use of profanity and personal attacks as best we can, and that we seek to understand the other side of a discussion first, and then seek to clearly communicate our side.
4. Community -- We believe that it is important to build the conservative community on Twitter, the internet, and within the populace of the United States of America. Community is built by engaging, including, and setting forth a positive vision of the future. We encourage positive action to solve problems, rather than negative criticisms that point out problems but offer no solutions.
1. Conservatism
2. Collaboration
3. Constructive Dialogue
4. Community
Here's what we mean by each of these 4 C's:
1. Conservatism -- We believe in the return to the concept of limited government in the United States. We support (1) limited government (2) free markets (3) individual liberty (4) a strong national defense. *
2. Collaboration -- We believe that advances in technology allow for incredible opportunities for collaboration between like minded groups. We seek and respond to opportunities to collaborate with any conservative group or organization. Within #TCOT, we support collaborative efforts through the use of self organizing work groups based on the principles of Project Servant-Leadership. We believe that once hearts and minds are committed to a cause, time and treasure will follow.
3. Constructive Dialogue -- We believe in the power of ideas, and that coordial and direct dialogue, in which good manners complement good logic, will yield the best answers to problems. Constructive dialogue means we refrain from the use of profanity and personal attacks as best we can, and that we seek to understand the other side of a discussion first, and then seek to clearly communicate our side.
4. Community -- We believe that it is important to build the conservative community on Twitter, the internet, and within the populace of the United States of America. Community is built by engaging, including, and setting forth a positive vision of the future. We encourage positive action to solve problems, rather than negative criticisms that point out problems but offer no solutions.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Will 1 Congressman and 1 Senator Challenge Obama Electoral College Votes Tomorrow?
Yesterday, President-Elect Barack Obama promised an administration that will set a "new higher standard of accountability, transparency and oversight."
Tomorrow, members of Congress will have an opportunity to ask the President-Elect to demonstrate some of that promised transparency to the American people as it relates to details of his own personal history that are of Constitutional significance.
Read the rest of this article here.
Tomorrow, members of Congress will have an opportunity to ask the President-Elect to demonstrate some of that promised transparency to the American people as it relates to details of his own personal history that are of Constitutional significance.
Read the rest of this article here.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Mike Duncan Utterly Unqualified to be Republican National Committee Chairman
Since his appointment as Chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2007, Mike Duncan has led the Republican Party to the most spectacular national political defeat in Modern American History. To call the Republican National Committee campaign efforts under his leadership disastrously inept is to be charitable to him.
The party’s 2008 Presidential nominee, John McCain, was thoroughly trounced by a Democratic opposition that was agile, well organized, focused, and technologically savvy. We also lost a significant number of seats in both the Senate and the House, where we were already a minority.
Inexplicably, Mr. Duncan apparently seems to believe that his dismal performance of failed leadership in the 2008 election recommends him for another term as RNC chair. Let's face it, his DNC counterpart, the maniacally screechy Howard Dean, just knocked his block off, and Mr. Duncan apparently still fails to realize his own culpability in this debacle.
How else can you explain Mr. Duncan’s recent announcement that he is declaring himself a candidate for another term as RNC Chair, despite the fact that there are already five other candidates in the race, all of whom are eminently more qualified than him to lead the party out of its recent failures?
There are a few who defend Duncan’s leadership. They claim he is a good manager of resources. This argument sounds to me like recommending the captain of the Titanic, had he survived the tragedy, to captain the very next transatlantic passenger ship voyage on the grounds that the kitchen of the Titanic did not once run out of rolls during the entire voyage... at least, until the ship sank in the icy waters of the North Atlantic.
Immediately after the election losses, a spate of grass roots efforts grew up, literally almost overnight, to resurrect the Republican Party, this time around based on true principles of conservatism and an understanding and skill in the use of technology to communicate the conservative message. The first, and arguably the most recognized of these efforts, the Rebuild the Party movement, was launched by Patrick Ruffini, who set forward a detailed action plan for the party just days after the election loss.
Other movements, such as Smart Girl Politics, and the #dontgo movement, and the New Republicans, are also spurring the growth of grass roots movements, as well as the group of which I am the co-founder, Top Conservatives on Twitter, which at this moment has over 1,500 members and is growing fast.
There are tens of thousands of netizen warriors working to rebuild the conservative movement and Republican Party this very moment.
I personally set forward a Plan to Rebuild the Republican Party, but I am but one among thousands.
Energy abounds within the conservative grass roots movement. Our organization, which goes by the Twitter search acronym #TCOT, has already set forward a plan to reclaim Congress for Conservative Republicans in 2010.
The awful truth of the matter, which we must acknowledge plainly and honestly, is that Mike Duncan is the #1 technological laggard, and it is time for him to get out of the way so the grass roots conservative movement can now lead the Republican party back to victory.
We’ve been tracking Mr. Duncan's committment to technology here, and the truth is, he's not even making an effort, unlike his five opponents.
Therefore, this evening I am calling on Mike Duncan to immediately withdraw his candidacy for the position of Chairman of the Republican National Committee. I know that he is committed to conservative principles, and I am telling him plainly and directly that the very best thing he can do to advance the cause of conservatism and the Republican Party is to take this personally uncomfortable step right now.
I am making this call for his withdrawal as an individual grass roots conservative Republican activist, who was elected statewide as a Tennessee Delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2008. I speak only for myself, but as co-founder of #TCOT I can say with complete certainty that my views represent the vast majority of the #TCOT community. With the exception of a few of his announced supporters who have recently joined our group, I would hazard to guess that my view may well be unanimously supported by the rapidly growing group of 1,500 conservative activist “netizen warriors”
The 168 members of the Republican National Committee will be voting on January 28-29, 2009 to select a Chairman for the next two years, and I am asking every member of the #TCOT organization who agrees with my views on the necessity of Mr. Duncan's withdrawal to communicate directly and through the use of their blogs with these 168 members.
You can contact these 168 members here.
In addition, you can tell me if you agree with my call for Mike Duncan to withdraw immediately from the RNC Chair Race by taking the online poll on this topic, which you can find now at the #TCOT Report.
I am publicly calling for Mr. Duncan's immediate withdrawal from the RNC race for 2 reasons:
1. The mere fact he has announced his candidacy, in light of two years of the most spectacular failure in American political history indicates how utterly disconnected he is from the real world of technology and engagement in which the rest of us live.
2. Apparently, some RNC members – among those 168 who will be able to vote for Chair Jan 28 are equally disconnected from reality and may be considering a vote for Duncan. This is hard to believe, and points to the importance of immediate corrective action.
The conservative and Republican grass roots movement are likely to ignore the RNC if Mr. Duncan is elected Chairman in January. Frankly, it will sound the death knell of irrelevancy for the RNC. The old guard at the RNC blew it big time. It's time for the failed old guard to step out of the way and let us in the grass roots movement lead now.
I note that Mr. Duncan apparently has recently and belatedly endorsed the Rebuild the Party Platform, but based on his performance of the past two years, I am convinced that he does not comprehend how to implement this platform. It looks to me like he is just checking the box.
Others in the press have recently noted that Mr. Duncan isn't up for the job. Here’s what Shawn Steel had to say in Politico yesterday:
“Duncan has been the Invisible Chairman, installed in January 2007 by Karl Rove to be unobtrusive — a mission he has carried out brilliantly. Many, if not most, Republican leaders and activists don’t know who he is. For example, when Duncan was a guest recently on the Hugh Hewitt Show, the radio host asked Duncan why this was the first time this RNC chairman had ever asked to come on the show and address millions of his fellow Republicans.
Duncan couldn’t give an answer other than he’d been busy for the past year. I suppose that’s one way to look at it. Another way is he hasn’t provided the kind of leadership the Republican National Committee needs in this day and age.
Despite his wraithlike RNC chairman, Duncan is slightly favored for reelection as chairman at the end of January. It should be cause for alarm when the chairmanship front-runner is a “Mike Who?” under who’s watch the GOP suffered its worst drubbing in decades.”
You can read the rest of the article here.
The opposition, also, apparently, is gleeful at the possibility of Mr. Duncan maintaining the Chairmanship of the RNC. Here’s what Yuna Shin recently said at the Huffington Post.
“This morning, NPR's Steve Inskeep interviewed the chairman of the Republican party, Mike Duncan, who is trying to hold on to his chairmanship despite the massive GOP loss in November. The most interesting part of the interview wasn't anything Duncan said.
Rather, it was Duncan's long silence when asked about the perception of the GOP as the party of exclusion. His silence spoke louder than anything that he had said in terms of how incapable the Republican Party still is of recognizing what it did wrong and what it needs to do in order to gain Americans' trust.”
The rest of that article can be found here.
In light of this overwhelming evidence, I humbly request that Mr. Duncan honor my suggestion that he withdraw his candidacy immediately. At #TCOT, all our actions are based on the concept of servant-leadership, a concept that is well articulated
here by James Dickey, the #1 Top Conservative on Twitter.
I believe that after Mr. Duncan has read this article, and thoughtfully reflected on how he can best serve the Republican Party and the conservative movement, he will recognize it is his duty to withdraw from the race for the Chairmanship of the RNC immediately.
The party’s 2008 Presidential nominee, John McCain, was thoroughly trounced by a Democratic opposition that was agile, well organized, focused, and technologically savvy. We also lost a significant number of seats in both the Senate and the House, where we were already a minority.
Inexplicably, Mr. Duncan apparently seems to believe that his dismal performance of failed leadership in the 2008 election recommends him for another term as RNC chair. Let's face it, his DNC counterpart, the maniacally screechy Howard Dean, just knocked his block off, and Mr. Duncan apparently still fails to realize his own culpability in this debacle.
How else can you explain Mr. Duncan’s recent announcement that he is declaring himself a candidate for another term as RNC Chair, despite the fact that there are already five other candidates in the race, all of whom are eminently more qualified than him to lead the party out of its recent failures?
There are a few who defend Duncan’s leadership. They claim he is a good manager of resources. This argument sounds to me like recommending the captain of the Titanic, had he survived the tragedy, to captain the very next transatlantic passenger ship voyage on the grounds that the kitchen of the Titanic did not once run out of rolls during the entire voyage... at least, until the ship sank in the icy waters of the North Atlantic.
Immediately after the election losses, a spate of grass roots efforts grew up, literally almost overnight, to resurrect the Republican Party, this time around based on true principles of conservatism and an understanding and skill in the use of technology to communicate the conservative message. The first, and arguably the most recognized of these efforts, the Rebuild the Party movement, was launched by Patrick Ruffini, who set forward a detailed action plan for the party just days after the election loss.
Other movements, such as Smart Girl Politics, and the #dontgo movement, and the New Republicans, are also spurring the growth of grass roots movements, as well as the group of which I am the co-founder, Top Conservatives on Twitter, which at this moment has over 1,500 members and is growing fast.
There are tens of thousands of netizen warriors working to rebuild the conservative movement and Republican Party this very moment.
I personally set forward a Plan to Rebuild the Republican Party, but I am but one among thousands.
Energy abounds within the conservative grass roots movement. Our organization, which goes by the Twitter search acronym #TCOT, has already set forward a plan to reclaim Congress for Conservative Republicans in 2010.
The awful truth of the matter, which we must acknowledge plainly and honestly, is that Mike Duncan is the #1 technological laggard, and it is time for him to get out of the way so the grass roots conservative movement can now lead the Republican party back to victory.
We’ve been tracking Mr. Duncan's committment to technology here, and the truth is, he's not even making an effort, unlike his five opponents.
Therefore, this evening I am calling on Mike Duncan to immediately withdraw his candidacy for the position of Chairman of the Republican National Committee. I know that he is committed to conservative principles, and I am telling him plainly and directly that the very best thing he can do to advance the cause of conservatism and the Republican Party is to take this personally uncomfortable step right now.
I am making this call for his withdrawal as an individual grass roots conservative Republican activist, who was elected statewide as a Tennessee Delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2008. I speak only for myself, but as co-founder of #TCOT I can say with complete certainty that my views represent the vast majority of the #TCOT community. With the exception of a few of his announced supporters who have recently joined our group, I would hazard to guess that my view may well be unanimously supported by the rapidly growing group of 1,500 conservative activist “netizen warriors”
The 168 members of the Republican National Committee will be voting on January 28-29, 2009 to select a Chairman for the next two years, and I am asking every member of the #TCOT organization who agrees with my views on the necessity of Mr. Duncan's withdrawal to communicate directly and through the use of their blogs with these 168 members.
You can contact these 168 members here.
In addition, you can tell me if you agree with my call for Mike Duncan to withdraw immediately from the RNC Chair Race by taking the online poll on this topic, which you can find now at the #TCOT Report.
I am publicly calling for Mr. Duncan's immediate withdrawal from the RNC race for 2 reasons:
1. The mere fact he has announced his candidacy, in light of two years of the most spectacular failure in American political history indicates how utterly disconnected he is from the real world of technology and engagement in which the rest of us live.
2. Apparently, some RNC members – among those 168 who will be able to vote for Chair Jan 28 are equally disconnected from reality and may be considering a vote for Duncan. This is hard to believe, and points to the importance of immediate corrective action.
The conservative and Republican grass roots movement are likely to ignore the RNC if Mr. Duncan is elected Chairman in January. Frankly, it will sound the death knell of irrelevancy for the RNC. The old guard at the RNC blew it big time. It's time for the failed old guard to step out of the way and let us in the grass roots movement lead now.
I note that Mr. Duncan apparently has recently and belatedly endorsed the Rebuild the Party Platform, but based on his performance of the past two years, I am convinced that he does not comprehend how to implement this platform. It looks to me like he is just checking the box.
Others in the press have recently noted that Mr. Duncan isn't up for the job. Here’s what Shawn Steel had to say in Politico yesterday:
“Duncan has been the Invisible Chairman, installed in January 2007 by Karl Rove to be unobtrusive — a mission he has carried out brilliantly. Many, if not most, Republican leaders and activists don’t know who he is. For example, when Duncan was a guest recently on the Hugh Hewitt Show, the radio host asked Duncan why this was the first time this RNC chairman had ever asked to come on the show and address millions of his fellow Republicans.
Duncan couldn’t give an answer other than he’d been busy for the past year. I suppose that’s one way to look at it. Another way is he hasn’t provided the kind of leadership the Republican National Committee needs in this day and age.
Despite his wraithlike RNC chairman, Duncan is slightly favored for reelection as chairman at the end of January. It should be cause for alarm when the chairmanship front-runner is a “Mike Who?” under who’s watch the GOP suffered its worst drubbing in decades.”
You can read the rest of the article here.
The opposition, also, apparently, is gleeful at the possibility of Mr. Duncan maintaining the Chairmanship of the RNC. Here’s what Yuna Shin recently said at the Huffington Post.
“This morning, NPR's Steve Inskeep interviewed the chairman of the Republican party, Mike Duncan, who is trying to hold on to his chairmanship despite the massive GOP loss in November. The most interesting part of the interview wasn't anything Duncan said.
Rather, it was Duncan's long silence when asked about the perception of the GOP as the party of exclusion. His silence spoke louder than anything that he had said in terms of how incapable the Republican Party still is of recognizing what it did wrong and what it needs to do in order to gain Americans' trust.”
The rest of that article can be found here.
In light of this overwhelming evidence, I humbly request that Mr. Duncan honor my suggestion that he withdraw his candidacy immediately. At #TCOT, all our actions are based on the concept of servant-leadership, a concept that is well articulated
here by James Dickey, the #1 Top Conservative on Twitter.
I believe that after Mr. Duncan has read this article, and thoughtfully reflected on how he can best serve the Republican Party and the conservative movement, he will recognize it is his duty to withdraw from the race for the Chairmanship of the RNC immediately.
A Plan to Rebuild the Republican Party Despite the Brain Dead Luddites Who Run It
Many grass roots conservative activists have set forward a plan to rebuild the Republican Party. Patrick Ruffini led the way with his Rebuild the Party group, which set forward a plan of action within a few days of the disastrous November 2008 election.
Here's my personal analysis of what went wrong in 2008, and what has to change for Republicans to succeed in 2010 and 2012.
A Plan to Rebuild the Republican Party Despite the Brain Dead Luddites Who Run It
George Bush lost his way when he abandoned policies of limited government and fiscal conservatism in a number of areas, ranging from the unprecedented pharmaceuticals entitlement program to No Child Left Behind. John McCain lost the 2008 election by mismanaging Sarah Palin’s post-convention introduction to the American voter, supporting the ill advised, pork filled $700 billion financial services industry bail out, and most importantly, failing to convey a clear conservative message to under 30 voters using state of the art 21st century communications tools and the language of imagery and symbolism they understand.
A detailed analysis of the election results shows that it is the 8 million vote majority among under 30 voters, who chose Obama over McCain by more than a 2 to 1 margin, that gave Obama his overall 8 million vote majority and a 52% to 46% win. Projecting the demographic trends forward to 2012, Leahy shows that unless Republicans can win with these under 30 voters, Obama’s margin in 2012 will grow to 54% to 44%.
I recommends a six step program that will lead to Republican success in 2010 and 2012.
(1) Return to conservative principles of limited government, lower taxes, and fiscal conservatism
(2) Frame this conservative message in the symbolism and imagery that will be persuasive to voters who are now between 15 and 29 years of age.
(3) Communicate this conservative message to all voters, but especially voters now between the ages of 15 and 29 using state of the art 21st Century technologies.
(4) Contest all 435 House of Representative elections and all local elections in 2010 and 2012.
(5) Kick the Rinos (Republicans in Name Only) out of the party, and rein in the Rinkos (Republicans in Name Kind Of).
(6) Engage every Republican of every age in growing the party through action, not talk. This will require the establishment of a technologically integrated web based communication network that connects every Republican County organization in real time with the State and National organizations. Young, forward looking, visionary leadership at the very top of the Republican National Committee is required for this. Technology and communication innovators like Patrick Ruffini and Erick Erickson should lead the way, not tired old Rinkos or Brain Dead Luddites.
There are several obstacles that must be overcome to succeed with this program. He begins by showing that we are still a Center-Right country, but that Republicans must acknowledge certain truths. The failure to do so will limit the effectiveness of his six part plan.
These truths are:
(1) The mainstream media is officially and permanently an arm of the Democratic Party.
(2) The nation is now comprised of a productive minority made up of small business owners and middle class and upper-middle class workers, who must constantly protect against the encroachment on their rights from the tyrannical majority, which consists of the half of all Americans who pay no income taxes, unions, bureaucrats, and Fortune 500 executives who benefit from public aid.
(3) There is no such thing as bi-partisan cooperation. Every political action taken by the left and the Democrat party is designed to defeat and humiliate the right and the Republican Party. Only vigilance, strength, and devotion to principle will yield any benefits for the productive minority.
The Republican Party needs to be a Big Tent, but the right kind of Big Tent. The "Big Tent Fallacy" which claims that shifting away from true conservatism will attract members of the tyrannical majority is a dangerous falsehood that should be rejected. The "Big Tent Maxim" should be that we welcome those from any group into the Republican Party who embrace the core principles of true conservativism.
(4) Only Republican leaders who are charismatic, adept at communicating symbolically using state of the art technologies, and unwaveringly committed to conservative principles will succeed.
Here's my personal analysis of what went wrong in 2008, and what has to change for Republicans to succeed in 2010 and 2012.
A Plan to Rebuild the Republican Party Despite the Brain Dead Luddites Who Run It
George Bush lost his way when he abandoned policies of limited government and fiscal conservatism in a number of areas, ranging from the unprecedented pharmaceuticals entitlement program to No Child Left Behind. John McCain lost the 2008 election by mismanaging Sarah Palin’s post-convention introduction to the American voter, supporting the ill advised, pork filled $700 billion financial services industry bail out, and most importantly, failing to convey a clear conservative message to under 30 voters using state of the art 21st century communications tools and the language of imagery and symbolism they understand.
A detailed analysis of the election results shows that it is the 8 million vote majority among under 30 voters, who chose Obama over McCain by more than a 2 to 1 margin, that gave Obama his overall 8 million vote majority and a 52% to 46% win. Projecting the demographic trends forward to 2012, Leahy shows that unless Republicans can win with these under 30 voters, Obama’s margin in 2012 will grow to 54% to 44%.
I recommends a six step program that will lead to Republican success in 2010 and 2012.
(1) Return to conservative principles of limited government, lower taxes, and fiscal conservatism
(2) Frame this conservative message in the symbolism and imagery that will be persuasive to voters who are now between 15 and 29 years of age.
(3) Communicate this conservative message to all voters, but especially voters now between the ages of 15 and 29 using state of the art 21st Century technologies.
(4) Contest all 435 House of Representative elections and all local elections in 2010 and 2012.
(5) Kick the Rinos (Republicans in Name Only) out of the party, and rein in the Rinkos (Republicans in Name Kind Of).
(6) Engage every Republican of every age in growing the party through action, not talk. This will require the establishment of a technologically integrated web based communication network that connects every Republican County organization in real time with the State and National organizations. Young, forward looking, visionary leadership at the very top of the Republican National Committee is required for this. Technology and communication innovators like Patrick Ruffini and Erick Erickson should lead the way, not tired old Rinkos or Brain Dead Luddites.
There are several obstacles that must be overcome to succeed with this program. He begins by showing that we are still a Center-Right country, but that Republicans must acknowledge certain truths. The failure to do so will limit the effectiveness of his six part plan.
These truths are:
(1) The mainstream media is officially and permanently an arm of the Democratic Party.
(2) The nation is now comprised of a productive minority made up of small business owners and middle class and upper-middle class workers, who must constantly protect against the encroachment on their rights from the tyrannical majority, which consists of the half of all Americans who pay no income taxes, unions, bureaucrats, and Fortune 500 executives who benefit from public aid.
(3) There is no such thing as bi-partisan cooperation. Every political action taken by the left and the Democrat party is designed to defeat and humiliate the right and the Republican Party. Only vigilance, strength, and devotion to principle will yield any benefits for the productive minority.
The Republican Party needs to be a Big Tent, but the right kind of Big Tent. The "Big Tent Fallacy" which claims that shifting away from true conservatism will attract members of the tyrannical majority is a dangerous falsehood that should be rejected. The "Big Tent Maxim" should be that we welcome those from any group into the Republican Party who embrace the core principles of true conservativism.
(4) Only Republican leaders who are charismatic, adept at communicating symbolically using state of the art technologies, and unwaveringly committed to conservative principles will succeed.
The Netizen Warriors at Top Conservatives on Twitter
Since the days of Ronald Reagan's vision of America as the "shining city on a hill," conservatives have been motivated to create an ideal version of our country.
Of late, we've lost our way.
Too many conservatives are looking backwards to the "Glory Days" of those great leaders who are no longer with us. They lived in a different world, with different technologies and a different citizenry.
It serves no purpose for us to wail and bemoan our recent misfortunes, as we try in vain to relive that which will never be again.
The path to re-establishing a limited government, one that is responsible only for those elements of the common good which we cannot provide for ourselves will not be shown by political leaders who live in decades past, nor by “talking heads” comfortably assured of their own intellectual superiority. Those who are interested in telling us what they think, but not hearing what we know, cannot lead; they can only stand in the way.
Limited government will be re-established through the independently undertaken but voluntarily coordinated efforts of hundreds of thousands of netizen-warriors just like you and me. Unlike the CEOs of auto companies and mortgage companies begging to be bailed out of financial debacles of their
own profligacy, the netizen-warrior approaches the task of righting our nation with the humility of servant leadership.
From that community servant leadership comes the moral authority by which other likeminded netizen-warriors will collectively work to return our country to the principles upon which it was founded.
It is upon these principles of modern day netizen warriorship that we have founded Top Conservatives on Twitter.
Of late, we've lost our way.
Too many conservatives are looking backwards to the "Glory Days" of those great leaders who are no longer with us. They lived in a different world, with different technologies and a different citizenry.
It serves no purpose for us to wail and bemoan our recent misfortunes, as we try in vain to relive that which will never be again.
The path to re-establishing a limited government, one that is responsible only for those elements of the common good which we cannot provide for ourselves will not be shown by political leaders who live in decades past, nor by “talking heads” comfortably assured of their own intellectual superiority. Those who are interested in telling us what they think, but not hearing what we know, cannot lead; they can only stand in the way.
Limited government will be re-established through the independently undertaken but voluntarily coordinated efforts of hundreds of thousands of netizen-warriors just like you and me. Unlike the CEOs of auto companies and mortgage companies begging to be bailed out of financial debacles of their
own profligacy, the netizen-warrior approaches the task of righting our nation with the humility of servant leadership.
From that community servant leadership comes the moral authority by which other likeminded netizen-warriors will collectively work to return our country to the principles upon which it was founded.
It is upon these principles of modern day netizen warriorship that we have founded Top Conservatives on Twitter.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Ford Motor's Head of Social Media Pioneers Public Dialogue with Conservative Grass Roots Movement
In my role as co-founder of Top Conservatives on Twitter, the Twitter based grass roots organization of conservatives dedicated to action projects that will return conservative Republicans to a majority in Congress in 2010, I was on one end of a fascinating two way public conversation that caused a bit of a stir in the blogosphere yesterday.
We had just completed one phase of Operation Fight The Bailout (our 1,200 plus members sent a thundering herd of Bailout Rinos as Facebook "gifts" to the 32 House Republicans who voted in favor of the Auto Bailout bill this past week, and were savoring the rejection of the bill in the Senate the next day, when Ford Motor Company's new Head of Social Media, Scott Monty, entered the #TCOT tweet stream.
You can read the rest of this article in my column today at Red County
We had just completed one phase of Operation Fight The Bailout (our 1,200 plus members sent a thundering herd of Bailout Rinos as Facebook "gifts" to the 32 House Republicans who voted in favor of the Auto Bailout bill this past week, and were savoring the rejection of the bill in the Senate the next day, when Ford Motor Company's new Head of Social Media, Scott Monty, entered the #TCOT tweet stream.
You can read the rest of this article in my column today at Red County
Friday, December 12, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
#TCOT' (Top Conservatives on Twitter) sends Facebook "Bailout RINO" Gifts to 32 House Republicans
Bailout RINOYesterday, the 1,000 plus members of Top Conservatives on Twitter launched a thundering herd of "Bailout RINO" Gifts to the 32 House Republicans who voted FOR the Auto Bailout, which had passed earlier in the day by a significant margin.
Today, the Senate failed to garner enough votes to bring the Bailout Bill to the floor.
Coincidence ?
RINKO--Republican in Name Kind of (Half Republican, Half RINO)
Hugh Hewitt and Top Conservatives on Twitter Combine for Social Media Broadcast Innovation !
Hugh Hewitt, by far the best up and coming conservative talk show host in the country, combined yesterday with our own growing conservative group on Twitter, Top Conservatives on Twitter to deliver an innovative simulcast of his live radio program and "Town Hall Tweeting" on Twitter.
To watch the dialogue again today from 4pm CST to 7 pm CST, go to http://search.twitter.com. Enter "#hhrs" and search. You will see the live "tweet stream" from Hugh and his great producer Duane as they comment on their interviews with top guests !
To watch the dialogue again today from 4pm CST to 7 pm CST, go to http://search.twitter.com. Enter "#hhrs" and search. You will see the live "tweet stream" from Hugh and his great producer Duane as they comment on their interviews with top guests !
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Tennessee Republicans Reward RINOs ?
Conservative Talk Show power house Steve Gill says Tennessee Republicans are rewarding RINOs.
Click here to read my column in Red County on that topic.
Click here to read my column in Red County on that topic.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Brain Dead Luddite Index Chart of RNC Chariman Contenders
Melanie Hall, a Republican internet activist and member of the rapidly growing group Rebuild the Party has taken my term "Brain Dead Luddite" and developed an index to measure the degree to which the contenders for the RNC chair position are capable of using social media and internet based tools. Here's her description of the index:
This is the rough first version of the chart, showing how the candidates compare in tech areas. Please note that I did not find a facebook page for Chip Saltsman, and I could not get the friend count for Katon Dawson, since his page is private and I am waiting on a friend confirmation. I found a blog for Saul Anuzis, and Michael Steele has a couple posts on a blog on his campaign page. I did not locate blogs for the other two candidates, however, I am planning on revising the information, so if you have information that is pertinent please comment or message me. I am also considering tracking changes in the information over time, although I would prefer this be a representation of the candidates inclination to utilize technology on a regular basis, as opposed to a contest to see who can ignore the most followers on Twitter.
*Current number of followers on Twitter
**Current number of friends on Facebook
Michael Steele blog
Saul Anuzis blog
(BDL™ Michael Patrick Leahy)
UPDATE:
To see Melanie Hall's most current version of the Brain Dead Luddite Index (Now called the Republican Chairman Candidate Tech Index.
PLEASE CLICK HERE.
The latest version includes some very cool indices, such as Following to Follower Ratio and 'at-replies' to updates ratio.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
So Sad Rosie's Show So Bad
Rosie O'Donnell's new NBC show tanked in the ratings this week.Rosie O'Donnell and NBC.
A match made in H _ _ _ ...
Tennessee's Saltsman Launches Bid for Republican National Committee Chairmanship
Tennessean Chip Saltsman, most recently the manager of Mike Huckabee's remarkably successful "up from nowhere" 2008 Presidential campaign, has thrown his hat in the ring as a candidate for the Republican National Committee Chairmanship position.
At forty, Saltsman is the youngest of the announced candidates and arguably has the most electoral success in his background. He helped the ignoble Don Sundquist win the Governorship in Tennessee back in 1994, and has been involved in several successful Tennessee campaigns, ranging from Bill Frist's Senate election to the glorious defeat of native son and Democrat Presidential candidate Al Gore in 2000. Without a Republican victory in Tennessee in 2000, all of the drama in Florida wouldn't have mattered, and Al Gore would have been elected President.
Click here to read the rest of my Red County column on Chip Saltsman.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Governor Bredesen's Early and Unwanted Thanksgiving Turkey
Check out my Red County column on Phil Bredesen's unwelcome Thanksgiving turkey here.
My father's book signing for Principal Without a Diploma
My father, Raymond Leahy (far left), is pictured here at his book signing last month in the Randolph Public Library in Randolph, New York.Principal Without a Diploma was published by Harpeth River Press this past October.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Andrew Ross Sorkin asks "Where was Geithner in turmoil"?
Andrew Ross Sorkin has an interesting article in today's International Herald Tribune in which he points out Secretary of Treasury nominee Timothy Geithner's involvement in the recent disastrous bailouts.
But Geithner's involvement in several ultimately ill-fated efforts to buttress the American financial system is the very reason some Wall Street CEO's — a number of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of piquing the man who regulates them — question whether he's up to the challenge.
"We have only two things to say about Tim Geithner, who we do not know: AIG and Lehman Brothers," said Christopher Whalen of Institutional Risk Analytics. "Throw in the Bear Stearns/Maiden Lane fiasco for good measure," he said, referring to the site of the New York Federal Reserve, where many rescue discussions took place.
"All of these 'rescues' are a disaster for the taxpayer, for the financial markets and also for the Federal Reserve System as an organization. Geithner, in our view, deserves retirement, not promotion."
You can read the rest of the article here.
Barack Obama.
Change you can count on !
But Geithner's involvement in several ultimately ill-fated efforts to buttress the American financial system is the very reason some Wall Street CEO's — a number of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of piquing the man who regulates them — question whether he's up to the challenge.
"We have only two things to say about Tim Geithner, who we do not know: AIG and Lehman Brothers," said Christopher Whalen of Institutional Risk Analytics. "Throw in the Bear Stearns/Maiden Lane fiasco for good measure," he said, referring to the site of the New York Federal Reserve, where many rescue discussions took place.
"All of these 'rescues' are a disaster for the taxpayer, for the financial markets and also for the Federal Reserve System as an organization. Geithner, in our view, deserves retirement, not promotion."
You can read the rest of the article here.
Barack Obama.
Change you can count on !
The Wall Street Journal Wonders Why Robert Rubin and other directors of CitiGroup are still employed
"Citi never sleeps," says the bank's advertising slogan. But its directors apparently do. While CEO Vikram Pandit can argue that many of Citi's problems were created before he arrived in 2007, most board members have no such excuse. Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin has served on the Citi board for a decade. For much of that time he was chairman of the executive committee, collecting tens of millions to massage the Beltway crowd, though apparently not for asking tough questions about risk management.
The writers at the Deal Journal blog remind us of one particularly egregious massaging, when Mr. Rubin tried to use political muscle to prop up Enron, a valued Citi client. Mr. Rubin asked a Treasury official to lean on credit-rating agencies to maintain a more positive rating than Enron deserved. What signal will President-elect Barack Obama send if his Administration, populated with Mr. Rubin's protégés, allows this uberfixer to continue flying hither and yon on the corporate jet while taxpayers foot the bill?
Click here to read the rest of the story.
Barack Obama.
Change you can count on !
The writers at the Deal Journal blog remind us of one particularly egregious massaging, when Mr. Rubin tried to use political muscle to prop up Enron, a valued Citi client. Mr. Rubin asked a Treasury official to lean on credit-rating agencies to maintain a more positive rating than Enron deserved. What signal will President-elect Barack Obama send if his Administration, populated with Mr. Rubin's protégés, allows this uberfixer to continue flying hither and yon on the corporate jet while taxpayers foot the bill?
Click here to read the rest of the story.
Barack Obama.
Change you can count on !
Monday, November 24, 2008
Obama Dream Team All Proteges of Robert Rubin, the Man Who Screwed Up Citibank, Begged for and got a $306 Billion Bailout
What does Treasury Secretary Nominee Tim Geithner have in common with current Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers ? They all learned at the feet of Robert Rubin, the man who screwed up Citibank, and just got a $306 billion bail out from the Feds.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. rescued Citigroup Inc, agreeing to shoulder most losses on about $306 billion of the bank's risky assets, and inject new capital, bolstering investor hopes that the government will support big banks as the economy sinks into recession.
The bailout, announced late Sunday, gives the government the right to buy an equity stake, and marks its latest effort to contain a widening financial crisis that has already brought down Bear Stearns Cos, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and Washington Mutual Inc.
Click here for rest of the story.
Barack Obama.
Change you can count on!
$306 billion of change if you’re Robert Rubin.
David Brooks' "Best and the Brightest" are more likely to be "Worst from the First."
Question: What Does Bill Richardson Know About Commerce ?
Answer: Nothing.
Unless, that is, you count his experience talking about commerce and passing bills about commerce as a Congressman, or his experience lobbying as a member of Kissinger McClarty Associates after he left the Clinton Administration.
Never had a real job in business.
Never, to borrow a phrase from Mitt Romney, "so much as operated a corner lemonade stand."
Excellent qualifications for President-elect Obama's new Secretary of Commerce.
Barack Obama
Change you can count on !
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Former Conservative David Brooks' Best and Brightest
Former Conservative David Brooks, a RINKO (Republican-in-name-kind-of) if ever there was one, waxes eloquent in the New York Times today about the high SAT scores and intellectual firepower of the Obama Administration.
Reminds me of all the media fawning over The Best and the Brightest in the Kennedy Administration. That led the country..... where ?
The word "hubris" comes to mind.
Any blogreaders want to fill in the blanks here ?
Reminds me of all the media fawning over The Best and the Brightest in the Kennedy Administration. That led the country..... where ?
The word "hubris" comes to mind.
Any blogreaders want to fill in the blanks here ?
CEO Fellowship a Great New Organization
I went to one of the weekly meetings of the CEO Fellowship on Friday morning. 6:45 is a tad early to meet, but about 400 people showed up at Brentwood Baptist Church (Tennessee) on Concord Road to listen to a great talk by Dave Ramsey.
The mission of the CEO Fellowship is
to encourage and equip CEOs to operate their companies on Christian principles, thus bringing people to Christ and improving the profitability of their companies.
My good friend Genma Holmes (pictured above with co-founder Leonard Isaacs) is on the board, as is my writing friend and "human capital guru" Nancy Reece.
Ramsey opened up his talk with a great line:
I just flew in to the meeting this morning from Detroit on my private Gulfstream Jet.
The place roared with laughter. Ramsey made the point with the joke. CEOs have an obligation--a Biblical stewardship obligation--not to waste the resources of the organizations they run.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
My Interview With Conservative Icon Richard Viguerie
Political junkies of both parties under the age of thirty may never have heard of Richard Viguerie. They would do well to learn more about about his career, and his thoughts about the future of conservatism in America.
A native of Pasadena, Texas, Viguerie was the originator of innovative direct mail fundraising techniques that bankrolled an array of conservative causes. Viguerie got his start in politics back in 1961, when he was named the Executive Secretary of William Buckley's newly formed Young Americans for Freedom. It was that group that pushed Barry Goldwater's 1964 Presidential Campaign. Goldwater's drubbing by Lyndon Johnson set the stage for more than a decade of grass roots conservative organizing that culminated in Ronald Reagan's election to the Presidency in 1980.
Click here to see the rest of my article Richard Viguerie Tells Red County "Third Force" Needed.
A native of Pasadena, Texas, Viguerie was the originator of innovative direct mail fundraising techniques that bankrolled an array of conservative causes. Viguerie got his start in politics back in 1961, when he was named the Executive Secretary of William Buckley's newly formed Young Americans for Freedom. It was that group that pushed Barry Goldwater's 1964 Presidential Campaign. Goldwater's drubbing by Lyndon Johnson set the stage for more than a decade of grass roots conservative organizing that culminated in Ronald Reagan's election to the Presidency in 1980.
Click here to see the rest of my article Richard Viguerie Tells Red County "Third Force" Needed.
WND Petition for Public Release of Obama Birth Certificate
World Net Daily launched an online petition for the public release of Barack Obama's Birth Certificate yesterday.
You can read the petition below, and you can sign it here.
WND claims that they have 33,000 signatures already. I've signed the petition, but it seems a little WND self serving, as the collected emails are a great addition to their marketing database. In addition, I think I would probably change the recipients of the petition and tighten up the language.
If I'm inspired, I may draw up another petition on the topic.
Begin WND Petition
PETITION FOR PUBLIC RELEASE OF BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA'S BIRTH CERTIFICATE
To: Electoral College, Congress of the United States, Federal Elections Commission, U.S. Supreme Court, President of the United States, other controlling legal authorities
Whereas, by requirement of the United States Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, no one can be sworn into office as president of the United States without being a natural born citizen;
Whereas, there is sufficient controversy within the citizenry of the United States as to whether presidential election winner Barack Obama was actually born in Hawaii as he claims;
Whereas, Barack Obama has refused repeated calls to release publicly his entire Hawaiian birth certificate, which would include the actual hospital that performed the delivery;
Whereas, lawsuits filed in several states seeking only proof of the basic minimal standard of eligibility have been rebuffed;
Whereas, Hawaii at the time of Obama's birth allowed births that took place in foreign countries to be registered in Hawaii;
Whereas, concerns that our government is not taking this constitutional question seriously will result in diminished confidence in our system of free and fair elections;
SIGN THE PETITION
We, the undersigned, assert our rights as citizens of the United States in demanding that the constitutional eligibility requirement be taken seriously and that any and all controlling legal authorities in this matter examine the complete birth certificate of Barack Obama, including the actual city and hospital of birth, and make that document available to the American people for inspection.
Click here to sign.
You can read the petition below, and you can sign it here.
WND claims that they have 33,000 signatures already. I've signed the petition, but it seems a little WND self serving, as the collected emails are a great addition to their marketing database. In addition, I think I would probably change the recipients of the petition and tighten up the language.
If I'm inspired, I may draw up another petition on the topic.
Begin WND Petition
PETITION FOR PUBLIC RELEASE OF BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA'S BIRTH CERTIFICATE
To: Electoral College, Congress of the United States, Federal Elections Commission, U.S. Supreme Court, President of the United States, other controlling legal authorities
Whereas, by requirement of the United States Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, no one can be sworn into office as president of the United States without being a natural born citizen;
Whereas, there is sufficient controversy within the citizenry of the United States as to whether presidential election winner Barack Obama was actually born in Hawaii as he claims;
Whereas, Barack Obama has refused repeated calls to release publicly his entire Hawaiian birth certificate, which would include the actual hospital that performed the delivery;
Whereas, lawsuits filed in several states seeking only proof of the basic minimal standard of eligibility have been rebuffed;
Whereas, Hawaii at the time of Obama's birth allowed births that took place in foreign countries to be registered in Hawaii;
Whereas, concerns that our government is not taking this constitutional question seriously will result in diminished confidence in our system of free and fair elections;
SIGN THE PETITION
We, the undersigned, assert our rights as citizens of the United States in demanding that the constitutional eligibility requirement be taken seriously and that any and all controlling legal authorities in this matter examine the complete birth certificate of Barack Obama, including the actual city and hospital of birth, and make that document available to the American people for inspection.
Click here to sign.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Titans Coach Fisher Parachutes Into Practice
Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher parachuted into yesterday's team practice to motivate his players.
Now, that would impress me !
Here's the story.
Supreme Court to Review Obama Natural Born Status Case Deember 5, 2008
Rus Thompson of Redcounty.com reports that the United States Supreme Court is scheduled to review Donofrio v. Wells on December 5, 2008.
On December 5, 2008, only ten days before the electoral college votes, the nine Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court will meet in private to review Obama's citizenship status.
Leo Donofrio's case, "Leo C. Donofrio, v. Nina Mitchell Wells, Secretary of State of the State of New Jersey, United States Supreme Court Docket No. 08A407," regarding Obama's citizenship has reached a new level. The case has been "distributed for conference."
You can read the full story here.
You can see the Supreme Court docket here.
On December 5, 2008, only ten days before the electoral college votes, the nine Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court will meet in private to review Obama's citizenship status.
Leo Donofrio's case, "Leo C. Donofrio, v. Nina Mitchell Wells, Secretary of State of the State of New Jersey, United States Supreme Court Docket No. 08A407," regarding Obama's citizenship has reached a new level. The case has been "distributed for conference."
You can read the full story here.
You can see the Supreme Court docket here.
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