Stop by and say hello.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
I will be signing Rules for Conservative Radicals at CPAC on Friday, February 19th at 2 pm
For those of you who plan on attending CPAC (the Conservative Political Action Conference) in Washington this week, I'll be signing copies of my book, Rules for Conservative Radicals, at the Exhibit Hall just outside the BreakPoint Bookstore at CPAC this Friday, February 19th, from 2 pm to 2:30 pm.
Stop by and say hello.
Stop by and say hello.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Bill Hennessy: Tea Party Republicans can't stand RINOs, Tea Party Democrats can't stand Marxocrats
Bill Hennessy, one of the leaders of the St. Louis Tea Party, and author of the great new book Zen Conservatism, poses this intriguing question:
His answer?
Marxocrats.
You can see his rogue's gallery photo lineup of this crowd here.
The Republicans have RINOs: Republican in Name Only. But what do you call a far left, radical Democrat who would go so far as to eliminate the First Amendment in order to silence dissent?
His answer?
Marxocrats.
You can see his rogue's gallery photo lineup of this crowd here.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Bart Gordon's Retirement From Congress a Victory for the Tea Party Movement
Bart Gordon, a 13 term Democrat from Tennessee's Sixth Congressional District, announced his retirement yesterday.
Gordon, whose main accomplishment during his career has been to maintain the title of the fastest runner in Congress (he literally beat former world champion Jim Ryun in 10k road races), was in big trouble politically.
Recent polls put him slightly behind Tennessee Republican State Senator Jim Tracy, the latest Republican challenger in the race, and certainly the most well known.
Credit for Mr. Gordon's surprise announcement of his retirement, however, must go to the Tea Party insurgents who showed his weaknesses.
First among these was retired Major General Dave Evans, who launched his campaign for Congress at the first Nashville Tea Party held on February 27, 2009 as part of the "Nationwide Chicago Tea Party."
The theme of the "Nationwide Chicago Tea Party", which was held simultaneously in fifty cities and attended by over 30,000 of the first tea party activists, was "Repeal the Pork or Retire."
When Evans spoke that day, he suggested that Bart Gordon do just that--repeal the pork or retire. As Gordon was unwilling and unable to repeal the pork, he took the only course of action available to him--he retired.
Dave Evans at the Nashville, TN Tea Party on February 27, 2009
Gordon's retirement now brings the count of Democratic Congressmen who are retiring rather than face a tough re-election battle to seven, who've made the announcement so far. Look for that number to continue growing.
Evans was a prolific tea party speaker at events throughout the Sixth Congressional District, and was soon joined by Lou Ann Zelenik, organizer of the April 15th Tax Day Tea Party held in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
The Republican Primary for the Sixth Congressional District looks to be a wide open contest now between Tracy, Zelenik, Evans, and several others.
Tracy has the advantage of name recognition, Zelenik has the advantage of a big campaign fund (said to be around $340,000), and Evans has the advantage of being the first in the race.
The challenge now is to make sure that a true conservative wins the primary, one who can best carry the banner of limited government against whomever the Democrats nominate.
Gordon, whose main accomplishment during his career has been to maintain the title of the fastest runner in Congress (he literally beat former world champion Jim Ryun in 10k road races), was in big trouble politically.
Recent polls put him slightly behind Tennessee Republican State Senator Jim Tracy, the latest Republican challenger in the race, and certainly the most well known.
Credit for Mr. Gordon's surprise announcement of his retirement, however, must go to the Tea Party insurgents who showed his weaknesses.
First among these was retired Major General Dave Evans, who launched his campaign for Congress at the first Nashville Tea Party held on February 27, 2009 as part of the "Nationwide Chicago Tea Party."
The theme of the "Nationwide Chicago Tea Party", which was held simultaneously in fifty cities and attended by over 30,000 of the first tea party activists, was "Repeal the Pork or Retire."
When Evans spoke that day, he suggested that Bart Gordon do just that--repeal the pork or retire. As Gordon was unwilling and unable to repeal the pork, he took the only course of action available to him--he retired.
Dave Evans at the Nashville, TN Tea Party on February 27, 2009
Gordon's retirement now brings the count of Democratic Congressmen who are retiring rather than face a tough re-election battle to seven, who've made the announcement so far. Look for that number to continue growing.
Evans was a prolific tea party speaker at events throughout the Sixth Congressional District, and was soon joined by Lou Ann Zelenik, organizer of the April 15th Tax Day Tea Party held in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
The Republican Primary for the Sixth Congressional District looks to be a wide open contest now between Tracy, Zelenik, Evans, and several others.
Tracy has the advantage of name recognition, Zelenik has the advantage of a big campaign fund (said to be around $340,000), and Evans has the advantage of being the first in the race.
The challenge now is to make sure that a true conservative wins the primary, one who can best carry the banner of limited government against whomever the Democrats nominate.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
New York State Board of Elections Statement Today Raises Questions About Legitimacy of House Health Care Vote on Saturday
On Saturday night, the House of Representatives narrowly passed the Nancy Pelosi backed health care takeover bill, 220-215.
News today from a spokesperson for the New York State Board of Election that it's still too close to certify the victor in last week's special election in New York's 23rd Congressional District now calls into question the moral legitimacy of that vote, if not the actual legal legitimacy.
Bill Owens, the Democrat, held about a 5,000 vote lead with 93% of the vote when Conservative Doug Hoffman conceded at about midnight on election night. Now, due to certain voting irregularities exposed during the re-canvas, the raw vote total differential has declined to about 3,000. In addition, about 10,000 absentee ballots have not been counted.
The New York State Board of Election will not be able to certify a victor in that race until mid-December now, apparently.
How then, was Bill Owens able to cast one of the 220 votes in favor of the 1,900 page Pelosi health care travesty on Saturday?
It turns out that Hoffman's early concession allowed Owens to be sworn in.
And while the odds are very long indeed against a reversal of the final results when all votes are tallied by the New York State Board of Elections in mid-December, it seems highly quesitonable that the outcome of such a critical piece of legislation appears to have been influenced by a vote cast by a candidate who we're not 100 per cent certain was elected by the voters in the 23rd Congressional District.
It all just smells a little too much of dirty Chicago politics and banana republic antics.
Hope and change indeed.
News today from a spokesperson for the New York State Board of Election that it's still too close to certify the victor in last week's special election in New York's 23rd Congressional District now calls into question the moral legitimacy of that vote, if not the actual legal legitimacy.
Bill Owens, the Democrat, held about a 5,000 vote lead with 93% of the vote when Conservative Doug Hoffman conceded at about midnight on election night. Now, due to certain voting irregularities exposed during the re-canvas, the raw vote total differential has declined to about 3,000. In addition, about 10,000 absentee ballots have not been counted.
The New York State Board of Election will not be able to certify a victor in that race until mid-December now, apparently.
How then, was Bill Owens able to cast one of the 220 votes in favor of the 1,900 page Pelosi health care travesty on Saturday?
It turns out that Hoffman's early concession allowed Owens to be sworn in.
And while the odds are very long indeed against a reversal of the final results when all votes are tallied by the New York State Board of Elections in mid-December, it seems highly quesitonable that the outcome of such a critical piece of legislation appears to have been influenced by a vote cast by a candidate who we're not 100 per cent certain was elected by the voters in the 23rd Congressional District.
It all just smells a little too much of dirty Chicago politics and banana republic antics.
Hope and change indeed.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
In NY-23, Newly Elected Democrat Bill Owens' 11th Hour Conversion in Support of Pelosi's Health Care Bill Raises Cries of Foul Play
From his nomination as the Democratic candidate for Congress in New York’s 23rd Congressional District on August 10 until October 30, barely 84 hours before the polls opened in the special election, newly elected Democratic Congressman Bill Owens was adamantly opposed to health care reform bills that included the "public option."
In his first formal interview as a candidate on August 11 with the New York Observer, Owens clearly stated his opposition to the public option:
"Owens took a decidedly moderate line on health care restructuring, saying he does not support a public option available to anyone--the crux of the restructuring put forward by President Obama."
You can read more of the August 11, 2009 New York Observer article here.
Owens maintained this position of strong opposition to the public option for the next two and a half months, until the final debate of the campaign, held in Plattsburgh on Friday October 30, just 84 hours before the polls opened for the special election.
The previous day, on October 29, Speaker of the House Pelosi had introduced the massive 1,900 page HR 3962 Health Care bill that included elements that were far more Left wing than any of the previous House bills.
The next day, Owens apparently latched on to the talking points about HR 3962 provided to him by Speaker Pelosi that allowed him to change his public opposition to the public option components of the bill.
Since the public introduction of HR 3962 on October 29, additional changes have apparently been made, and it is unknown if any of those changes effect the language of the revised public option. For that matter, it is unclear if Owens is even aware of any of the changes made to HR 3962 since October 29.
It's difficult to know, because Speaker Pelosi has refused to publicly post the details of the final version of HR 3962 on which Owens and the other members of the House of Representatives will be voting this afternoon. Both Speaker Pelosi and President Obama had promised "transparency" for all bills, stating they would be available for viewing by the public on the internet in their final form for 72 hours before any votes were held. This promise has been broken repeatedly, and is being broken today on HR 3962.
Owens, then, is left in a position where he has switched to support the Pelosi Health Care bill at the last minute, and now will be voting in favor of something the full details of which he is ignorant.
You can read the rest of this article, a combined effort by Michael Patrick Leahy of The TCOT Report and Nathan Barker of The Gouverneur Times here at The TCOT Report.
In his first formal interview as a candidate on August 11 with the New York Observer, Owens clearly stated his opposition to the public option:
"Owens took a decidedly moderate line on health care restructuring, saying he does not support a public option available to anyone--the crux of the restructuring put forward by President Obama."
You can read more of the August 11, 2009 New York Observer article here.
Owens maintained this position of strong opposition to the public option for the next two and a half months, until the final debate of the campaign, held in Plattsburgh on Friday October 30, just 84 hours before the polls opened for the special election.
The previous day, on October 29, Speaker of the House Pelosi had introduced the massive 1,900 page HR 3962 Health Care bill that included elements that were far more Left wing than any of the previous House bills.
The next day, Owens apparently latched on to the talking points about HR 3962 provided to him by Speaker Pelosi that allowed him to change his public opposition to the public option components of the bill.
Since the public introduction of HR 3962 on October 29, additional changes have apparently been made, and it is unknown if any of those changes effect the language of the revised public option. For that matter, it is unclear if Owens is even aware of any of the changes made to HR 3962 since October 29.
It's difficult to know, because Speaker Pelosi has refused to publicly post the details of the final version of HR 3962 on which Owens and the other members of the House of Representatives will be voting this afternoon. Both Speaker Pelosi and President Obama had promised "transparency" for all bills, stating they would be available for viewing by the public on the internet in their final form for 72 hours before any votes were held. This promise has been broken repeatedly, and is being broken today on HR 3962.
Owens, then, is left in a position where he has switched to support the Pelosi Health Care bill at the last minute, and now will be voting in favor of something the full details of which he is ignorant.
You can read the rest of this article, a combined effort by Michael Patrick Leahy of The TCOT Report and Nathan Barker of The Gouverneur Times here at The TCOT Report.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
The Day After, Newt Gingrich Gets the Facts About NY-23 Wrong Again
It's getting to be a pattern with Newt Gingrich.
He can't get the facts right. Yet he insists upon repeating his errors again and again, perhaps thinking that mere repetition will make it true.
The day after Democrat Bill Owens beat Conservative Doug Hoffman in the NY 23 Special Congressional Election, thanks largely to the treachery of Dede Scozzafava, the very liberal RINO Newt Gingrich endorsed, the former Speaker once again falsely characterizes the nomination process that gave Scozzafava the nod:
"I certainly heard from enough friends to know that my decision to support the unanimous vote of the 11 New York county chairs was very unpopular with conservative activists."
As I've documented in several articles, both here and here, this is a factually untrue statement.
Of the 11 county chairs who participated in the selection process that resulted in the Scozzafava fiasco, only 4 supported Scozzafava on the first ballot, and only 9 of the 11 ended up "voting" for her.
Fulton County Chairman Susan McNeil pointedly refused to ever sign a document supporting Scozzafava's nomination.
And though Franklin County Chairman Jim Ellis signed a documenting supporting the nominee ultimately selected by the other chairmen in the tainted process, he did not endorse Scozzafava.
You can read the rest of the former Speaker's statement on his web site here.
He can't get the facts right. Yet he insists upon repeating his errors again and again, perhaps thinking that mere repetition will make it true.
The day after Democrat Bill Owens beat Conservative Doug Hoffman in the NY 23 Special Congressional Election, thanks largely to the treachery of Dede Scozzafava, the very liberal RINO Newt Gingrich endorsed, the former Speaker once again falsely characterizes the nomination process that gave Scozzafava the nod:
"I certainly heard from enough friends to know that my decision to support the unanimous vote of the 11 New York county chairs was very unpopular with conservative activists."
As I've documented in several articles, both here and here, this is a factually untrue statement.
Of the 11 county chairs who participated in the selection process that resulted in the Scozzafava fiasco, only 4 supported Scozzafava on the first ballot, and only 9 of the 11 ended up "voting" for her.
Fulton County Chairman Susan McNeil pointedly refused to ever sign a document supporting Scozzafava's nomination.
And though Franklin County Chairman Jim Ellis signed a documenting supporting the nominee ultimately selected by the other chairmen in the tainted process, he did not endorse Scozzafava.
You can read the rest of the former Speaker's statement on his web site here.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Huckabee a Day Late, a Dollar Short, and a Dial Tone Off in NY 23
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee had been on a roll, but he's stumbled badly in his very very late endorsement of Conservative Doug Hoffman in NY 23. After a series of very savvy moves over the last year, the most recent 2012 Presidential horse race poll had Huckabee in first place over rivals Palin, Romney, and Pawlenty. From his weekend Fox TV show to his aw-shucks well received daily radio updates, Huckabee had been doing all the right things.
Until NY 23.
While Sarah Palin was the first major Presidential candidate to endorse Hoffman, Huck held his endorsement back until after Scozzafava withdrew on Saturday. Her subsequent treachery and endorsement of the Democrat in the race makes Palin look like the brave visionary, and Huckabee and Romney look like....well, Huckabee and Romney.
To compound matters, today in the email in-box comes this little gift from Huckabee:
Today I am emailing to ask if you will take a moment now to make phone calls to voters. We have set up phone banks for Bob McDonnell, Doug Hoffman and David Harmer and you can begin calling voters immediately. Even if you can only make a call or two, you will help make a positive difference in the final hours before votes are cast TOMORROW. Also, if you know friends or family who will have a chance to vote on Tuesday for one of these candidates please make sure they do. Huck PAC volunteers have already made over 20,000 calls in Virginia and helped Bob immensely. I know if we make these final calls today we can do more of the same.
Mike Huckabee
You can read the rest of the story at The TCOT Report.
Until NY 23.
While Sarah Palin was the first major Presidential candidate to endorse Hoffman, Huck held his endorsement back until after Scozzafava withdrew on Saturday. Her subsequent treachery and endorsement of the Democrat in the race makes Palin look like the brave visionary, and Huckabee and Romney look like....well, Huckabee and Romney.
To compound matters, today in the email in-box comes this little gift from Huckabee:
Today I am emailing to ask if you will take a moment now to make phone calls to voters. We have set up phone banks for Bob McDonnell, Doug Hoffman and David Harmer and you can begin calling voters immediately. Even if you can only make a call or two, you will help make a positive difference in the final hours before votes are cast TOMORROW. Also, if you know friends or family who will have a chance to vote on Tuesday for one of these candidates please make sure they do. Huck PAC volunteers have already made over 20,000 calls in Virginia and helped Bob immensely. I know if we make these final calls today we can do more of the same.
Mike Huckabee
You can read the rest of the story at The TCOT Report.
The Gingrich-Scozzafava-Duprey RINO Branch of the Republican Party Keeps Getting it Wrong
Having documented repeatedly and in great detail at The TCOT Report the self serving cronyism of Clinton County RINO Assemblywoman Janet Duprey, the woman who threw the NY 23 Republican Congressional nomination to fellow RINO Dede Scozzafava, I am getting very tired of hearing former "smartest guy in the room" Newt Gingrich repeatedly and shrilly misrepresent the facts of the nomination process in NY 23.
The former Speaker is rapidly turning into an intellectually lazy talking head who doesn't do his homework, and keeps repeating his foolish "Big Tent" mantra.
For the thousandth time, Mr. Speaker, here are the facts:
1. The majority of the Republican County committee members in NY 23 wanted to nominate a conservative candidate. They did not want Dede Scozzafava. Scozzafava was nominated only because her Republican establishment pal and fellow RINO Janet Duprey, who is likely to be challenged by a real Republican in the 2010 Assembly primary in her district, IGNORED THE WISHES of virtually every Clinton County Republican committee member who attended the Plattsburgh, NY candidate forum that immediately preceeded the nomination.
2. NY 23 is not Maine, where a RINO such as Susan Collins might actually reflect the desires of the populace. Almost 60% of the 2008 Maine vote went for Obama. Only 52% of the 2008 NY 23 vote went for Obama, one of the few times in history a Democrat has taken the district. NY 23 has much more in common with Ohio than it has with Maine.
Mr. Speaker you are doing a real disservice to the Republican Party and the conservative movement by constantly misrepresenting the facts. Time for a heart felt mea culpa. Or better yet, time to stop talking about matters on which you are completely uninformed.
The former Speaker is rapidly turning into an intellectually lazy talking head who doesn't do his homework, and keeps repeating his foolish "Big Tent" mantra.
For the thousandth time, Mr. Speaker, here are the facts:
1. The majority of the Republican County committee members in NY 23 wanted to nominate a conservative candidate. They did not want Dede Scozzafava. Scozzafava was nominated only because her Republican establishment pal and fellow RINO Janet Duprey, who is likely to be challenged by a real Republican in the 2010 Assembly primary in her district, IGNORED THE WISHES of virtually every Clinton County Republican committee member who attended the Plattsburgh, NY candidate forum that immediately preceeded the nomination.
2. NY 23 is not Maine, where a RINO such as Susan Collins might actually reflect the desires of the populace. Almost 60% of the 2008 Maine vote went for Obama. Only 52% of the 2008 NY 23 vote went for Obama, one of the few times in history a Democrat has taken the district. NY 23 has much more in common with Ohio than it has with Maine.
Mr. Speaker you are doing a real disservice to the Republican Party and the conservative movement by constantly misrepresenting the facts. Time for a heart felt mea culpa. Or better yet, time to stop talking about matters on which you are completely uninformed.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Local Republicans Charge Corruption in NY-23 Scozzafava Fiasco
Local Republicans in NY-23 are publicly wondering if the Obama White House promised Dede Scozzafava, the former Republican nominee, a plum job to endorse Democratic candidate Bill Owens.
"In my opinion, you've got a corrupt deal going on between the Obama White House and Dede Scozzafava. It's Chicago politics in the 23rd NY Congressional District."
Jim Ellis, Franklin County New York Republican Chairman
"I don't think that Dede Scozzafava's endorsement of Bill Owens will influence one vote other than maybe hers. This whole process after her selection has been sickening. What she's doing is sad, other than it shows what kind of a person she is, and what her true allegiance is."
Paul Mauron, the NY-23 Congressional Candidate who lost the nomination to Dede in a process that has subsequently been documented to have been tainted
"Is she that mad? I thought she was a patriot. She is just turning her back on a lot of the values of her constituency in this district."
Sam Villanti, Lewis County New York Republican Chairman
"There was something that I felt was wrong with Dede Scozzafava all along anyway after we went through the nomination process. She's showing her true colors now. If she was a true Republican, she would not be doing this, endorsing the Democrat Bill Owens who will support Nancy Pelosi."
Susan McNeil, Fulton County New York Republican Chairman
You can read the rest of the story at The TCOT Report.
"In my opinion, you've got a corrupt deal going on between the Obama White House and Dede Scozzafava. It's Chicago politics in the 23rd NY Congressional District."
Jim Ellis, Franklin County New York Republican Chairman
"I don't think that Dede Scozzafava's endorsement of Bill Owens will influence one vote other than maybe hers. This whole process after her selection has been sickening. What she's doing is sad, other than it shows what kind of a person she is, and what her true allegiance is."
Paul Mauron, the NY-23 Congressional Candidate who lost the nomination to Dede in a process that has subsequently been documented to have been tainted
"Is she that mad? I thought she was a patriot. She is just turning her back on a lot of the values of her constituency in this district."
Sam Villanti, Lewis County New York Republican Chairman
"There was something that I felt was wrong with Dede Scozzafava all along anyway after we went through the nomination process. She's showing her true colors now. If she was a true Republican, she would not be doing this, endorsing the Democrat Bill Owens who will support Nancy Pelosi."
Susan McNeil, Fulton County New York Republican Chairman
You can read the rest of the story at The TCOT Report.
Local Paper in NY 23 Reports Scozzafava Encouraging Supporters to Back Democrat Owens
The Watertown Daily Times this morning reported that Dede Scozzafava is encouraging her supporters to back Democrat Bill Owens.
"During the day Saturday, [Dede Scozzafava] began to quietly and thoughtfully encourage her supporters to vote for Democrat William L. Owens," the paper said.
When contacted this morning by The TCOT Report, former Scozzafava Campaign spokesperson Matt Burns was unable to confirm the Watertown Daily Times Report.
"That's a question you should be asking DeDe," he said. "As of yesterday, I am no longer affiliated with Dede Scozzafava or her campaign."
Meanwhile....as this story was breaking Sunday morning,
Newt Gingrich was on Fox News stating Scozzafava was supporting Hoffman.....
You can read the rest of the story at The TCOT Report.
"During the day Saturday, [Dede Scozzafava] began to quietly and thoughtfully encourage her supporters to vote for Democrat William L. Owens," the paper said.
When contacted this morning by The TCOT Report, former Scozzafava Campaign spokesperson Matt Burns was unable to confirm the Watertown Daily Times Report.
"That's a question you should be asking DeDe," he said. "As of yesterday, I am no longer affiliated with Dede Scozzafava or her campaign."
Meanwhile....as this story was breaking Sunday morning,
Newt Gingrich was on Fox News stating Scozzafava was supporting Hoffman.....
You can read the rest of the story at The TCOT Report.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Who Lied to Newt Gingrich?
"Newt Gingrich is either lying, or he's being misled by someone," says Bob Dugan, current Fulton County, New York Republican Committee Man. Until he resigned last week in protest of the tainted process by which liberal Dede Scozzafava secured the Republican nomination for Congress in New York's 23rd Congressional District,Mr. Dugan was the Vice Chairman of the Fulton County, New York Republican Committee.
Newt Gingrich's FALSE ASSERTION on how Dede Scozzafava secured the Republican nomination:
"There were four Republican meetings. In all four meetings, State Representative Dede Scozzafava came in first."
(Source: Transcript of Fox TV's On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, Monday, October 26, 2009
The FACTS as verified by numerous interviews with participants in the four candidate forums:
In three of the four Republican meetings, the majority of those attending supported conservative candidates, not Dede Scozzafava.
You can read the rest of the story here.
Newt Gingrich's FALSE ASSERTION on how Dede Scozzafava secured the Republican nomination:
"There were four Republican meetings. In all four meetings, State Representative Dede Scozzafava came in first."
(Source: Transcript of Fox TV's On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, Monday, October 26, 2009
The FACTS as verified by numerous interviews with participants in the four candidate forums:
In three of the four Republican meetings, the majority of those attending supported conservative candidates, not Dede Scozzafava.
You can read the rest of the story here.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Newt Gingrich's Endorsement of RINO in NY 23 One of the Biggest Blunders of His Career
Newt Gingrich’s decision to endorse the very liberal Dede Scozzafava over the very conservative Doug Hoffman in the New York 23rd Congressional District special election will probably be seen as one of the biggest political blunders of his career. In one ill informed decision, he has destroyed all the political capital he built up among the grassroots through his early public support for the Tax Day Tea Party. Every single person I’ve talked to in the Tea Party Movement is strongly supporting Doug Hoffman and simply can’t comprehend the former Speaker’s reasoning. His chances of securing support for a 2012 Presidential bid from the Tea Party Movement have turned to dust.
It’s ironic that a respected historian and student of military history like the Speaker has made exactly the kind of error many failed generals have made: He’s fighting today’s war based on the tactics that succeeded in the last war. He seems to think that the “big tent” philosophy he used to craft the majority that won the House for Republicans in 1994 and gave him the Speakership is the right strategy for 2009, fifteen years later. It’s clearly not. There wasn’t much of an internet back then, and there was certainly no Tea Party Movement.
More disturbingly, the Speaker failed to do his homework on how Ms. Scozzafava secured the nomination. It’s a tainted nomination, and if he had taken the time to return any of the several phone calls I made to him, or the direct messages I sent to him on Twitter, I could have given him the first hand information of the cronyism that lead to Ms. Scozzafava’s nomination. I documented this in great detail in my article at The TCOT Report last week.
The Speaker has repeatedly claimed that Ms. Scozzafava received the majority of the votes of the committeemen at the four candidate forums conducted throughout the district. This is factually untrue. In fact, the liberal Clinton County Chairwoman who cast the deciding vote for Ms. Scozzafava when the eleven county chairmen convened to select the nominee has publicly acknowledged that the majority of the Clinton County committee members who attended the Plattsburgh, New York forum voted for a conservative candidate, not Ms. Scozzafava. The Republican rank and file of the 23rd Congressional District are clearly conservative, and do not support the liberal Ms. Scozzafava in this special election, and if the nomination process had not been tainted, the Republican Party would have nominated a conservative.
The election is a week away, and the Speaker still has an opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of the Tea Party Movement. He could do the Republican Party and fiscal conservatives around the country a great service by calling Dede Scozzafava today and asking her to withdraw from the race. But I’m certainly not holding my breath for that to happen.
It’s ironic that a respected historian and student of military history like the Speaker has made exactly the kind of error many failed generals have made: He’s fighting today’s war based on the tactics that succeeded in the last war. He seems to think that the “big tent” philosophy he used to craft the majority that won the House for Republicans in 1994 and gave him the Speakership is the right strategy for 2009, fifteen years later. It’s clearly not. There wasn’t much of an internet back then, and there was certainly no Tea Party Movement.
More disturbingly, the Speaker failed to do his homework on how Ms. Scozzafava secured the nomination. It’s a tainted nomination, and if he had taken the time to return any of the several phone calls I made to him, or the direct messages I sent to him on Twitter, I could have given him the first hand information of the cronyism that lead to Ms. Scozzafava’s nomination. I documented this in great detail in my article at The TCOT Report last week.
The Speaker has repeatedly claimed that Ms. Scozzafava received the majority of the votes of the committeemen at the four candidate forums conducted throughout the district. This is factually untrue. In fact, the liberal Clinton County Chairwoman who cast the deciding vote for Ms. Scozzafava when the eleven county chairmen convened to select the nominee has publicly acknowledged that the majority of the Clinton County committee members who attended the Plattsburgh, New York forum voted for a conservative candidate, not Ms. Scozzafava. The Republican rank and file of the 23rd Congressional District are clearly conservative, and do not support the liberal Ms. Scozzafava in this special election, and if the nomination process had not been tainted, the Republican Party would have nominated a conservative.
The election is a week away, and the Speaker still has an opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of the Tea Party Movement. He could do the Republican Party and fiscal conservatives around the country a great service by calling Dede Scozzafava today and asking her to withdraw from the race. But I’m certainly not holding my breath for that to happen.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
No One Can Confirm Scozzafava Account of Why Cops Were Called on Weekly Standard Reporter
In an exclusive interview with the TCOT Report, Sam Villanti, the GOP County Chairman for Lewis County, one of the eleven counties in the 23rd Congressional District, who was present at the event last night in Lowville, New York after which the Scozzafava Campaign called the cops to interrogate a reporter for the Weekly Standard, today said that he could not confirm the events as decribed by Scozzafava Campaign spokesperson Matt Burns. Lowville is a village in in Lewis County. As county chairman, Villanti officiated at the evening's dinner.
"I called for questions after the dinner, and no one really had any. Then afterwards, all of a sudden there was a police officer there."
The Politico today reported that Scozzafava spokesman Matt Burns described the incident as follows:
“This self-described reporter repeatedly screamed questions (in-your-face-style) while our candidate was doing what she is supposed to be doing: speaking with voters (remember, those who will decide this election?). And then he followed the candidate to her car, continuing to carry on in a manner that would make the National Enquirer blush. I have no doubt he intended to follow her home, too. His actions were reprehensible. Those are the facts.”
Burns came to his understanding of what he calls the facts by some means other than first hand knowledge. Villanti, who was there, said "Matt Burns was not there. I think only Mike Backus was there from Dede's campaign."
Villanti also confirmed that no one was screaming questions at Scozzafava while she was speaking with voters during the dinner itself. In fact, the appearance of the police officer baffled him.
"We had finished dinner and the party was breaking up. There were perhaps 25 people left in the room [out of about 100 who attended] and a police officer walked in. She told us she was responding to a 911 call, and was looking for someone named McDonald. We thought she was looking for the McDonald's restaurant, which is on the other side of town. She hung around, she was pretty persistent. I was the second or third last to leave. When I got in my car she was still parked in the lot."
You can read the rest of the story on the TCOT Report, at www.tcotreport.com.
"I called for questions after the dinner, and no one really had any. Then afterwards, all of a sudden there was a police officer there."
The Politico today reported that Scozzafava spokesman Matt Burns described the incident as follows:
“This self-described reporter repeatedly screamed questions (in-your-face-style) while our candidate was doing what she is supposed to be doing: speaking with voters (remember, those who will decide this election?). And then he followed the candidate to her car, continuing to carry on in a manner that would make the National Enquirer blush. I have no doubt he intended to follow her home, too. His actions were reprehensible. Those are the facts.”
Burns came to his understanding of what he calls the facts by some means other than first hand knowledge. Villanti, who was there, said "Matt Burns was not there. I think only Mike Backus was there from Dede's campaign."
Villanti also confirmed that no one was screaming questions at Scozzafava while she was speaking with voters during the dinner itself. In fact, the appearance of the police officer baffled him.
"We had finished dinner and the party was breaking up. There were perhaps 25 people left in the room [out of about 100 who attended] and a police officer walked in. She told us she was responding to a 911 call, and was looking for someone named McDonald. We thought she was looking for the McDonald's restaurant, which is on the other side of town. She hung around, she was pretty persistent. I was the second or third last to leave. When I got in my car she was still parked in the lot."
You can read the rest of the story on the TCOT Report, at www.tcotreport.com.
GOP Chairman in NY 23rd Slams Scozzafava, Says He's Written Off Election
In an exclusive interview with the TCOT Report, George Joseph, Republican Party Chairman of Oneida County, one of the eleven counties in New York's 23rd Congressional District, today slammed Republican Party nominee Dede Scozzafava. This damaging news comes on the heels of Scozzafava’s ill advised attempt to intimidate a reporter from The Weekly Standard by calling the cops on him after he asked persistent questions about her position on card check legislation at a meeting held last night in Lowville, New York. Lowville is located in Lewis County, immediately to the north of Oneida County.
According to Joseph,
"I wasn’t sold on Dede from the beginning. That race represents 8% of Oneida County. Throughout the nomination process, I would have thought there would have been more sensitivity, in light of what happened with Tedisco in NY 20, who was the annointed front runner. [Republican Tedisco was defeated in a special election for an open Congresssional seat earlier this year]. Just with [Dede] coming out of Albany — any legislator in Albany is so tarnished why would we nominate them ? We acted very tone deaf in how we selected this nominee.”
Joseph also took a shot at Clinton County Chairman and Assemblywoman Janet Duprey, who threw the nomination to Scozzafava despite the fact that the majority of the Clinton County committee members who attended a candidate forum voted for the ideologically conservative Paul Maroun, and not for the ideologically liberal Scozzafava.
“I would be as much offended if I was a resident or committee person of that county. This process, that started in an honorable fashion has turned into a tainted runaway election.”
Joseph conceded that because of this, Scozzafava is almost certain to lose the election.
For the rest of the story, go to The TCOT Report website at www.tcotreport.com.
According to Joseph,
"I wasn’t sold on Dede from the beginning. That race represents 8% of Oneida County. Throughout the nomination process, I would have thought there would have been more sensitivity, in light of what happened with Tedisco in NY 20, who was the annointed front runner. [Republican Tedisco was defeated in a special election for an open Congresssional seat earlier this year]. Just with [Dede] coming out of Albany — any legislator in Albany is so tarnished why would we nominate them ? We acted very tone deaf in how we selected this nominee.”
Joseph also took a shot at Clinton County Chairman and Assemblywoman Janet Duprey, who threw the nomination to Scozzafava despite the fact that the majority of the Clinton County committee members who attended a candidate forum voted for the ideologically conservative Paul Maroun, and not for the ideologically liberal Scozzafava.
“I would be as much offended if I was a resident or committee person of that county. This process, that started in an honorable fashion has turned into a tainted runaway election.”
Joseph conceded that because of this, Scozzafava is almost certain to lose the election.
For the rest of the story, go to The TCOT Report website at www.tcotreport.com.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Nomination of Liberal Republican in New York 23rd, Dede Scozzafava, Tainted by Breach of Trust
Liberal Republican Assemblywoman Janet Duprey threw the nomination to her friend and fellow Liberal Republican Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava despite the wishes of the majority of Republicans in the County she serves as Chairman
When John McHugh, Republican Congressman from New York’s 23rd District, accepted President Obama’s nomination to become the Secretary of the Army on June 2, no one could have predicted that less than three weeks before the special election to replace him on November 3 a Democrat would be leading in the polls. But that’s exactly what has happened. A Siena Institute Poll released on October 15 shows Democrat Bill Owens leading in this rural upstate district that stretches north from the suburbs of Syracuse to the Canadian border with 33
% of the vote, followed by Republican Dede Scozzafava with 29%, and Conservative Doug Hoffman with 23%. If Owens wins in November 3 it will mark the first time a Democrat has represented the district since the Civil War.
This debacle has occurred despite the most open and transparent process for the selection of a Congressional candidate in a special election in the history of the New York State Republican Party. The nomination of Scozzafava was orchestrated by two powerful liberal members of the local Republican Party organization, and was aided and abetted by several politically inexperienced local county leaders who failed to grasp the tactical significance of shunning the Conservative Party and did not fully understand the details of their nominee’s record, or her potential vulnerabilities.
Click here to read the rest of the story at The TCOT Report
When John McHugh, Republican Congressman from New York’s 23rd District, accepted President Obama’s nomination to become the Secretary of the Army on June 2, no one could have predicted that less than three weeks before the special election to replace him on November 3 a Democrat would be leading in the polls. But that’s exactly what has happened. A Siena Institute Poll released on October 15 shows Democrat Bill Owens leading in this rural upstate district that stretches north from the suburbs of Syracuse to the Canadian border with 33
% of the vote, followed by Republican Dede Scozzafava with 29%, and Conservative Doug Hoffman with 23%. If Owens wins in November 3 it will mark the first time a Democrat has represented the district since the Civil War.
This debacle has occurred despite the most open and transparent process for the selection of a Congressional candidate in a special election in the history of the New York State Republican Party. The nomination of Scozzafava was orchestrated by two powerful liberal members of the local Republican Party organization, and was aided and abetted by several politically inexperienced local county leaders who failed to grasp the tactical significance of shunning the Conservative Party and did not fully understand the details of their nominee’s record, or her potential vulnerabilities.
Click here to read the rest of the story at The TCOT Report
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Poll in New York's 23rd Special Election Will Show Support for RINO Plummeting, Conservative Fast Rising
A poll from the Siena Institute on the 23rd Congressional District Special Election to be released this morning will show that the Republican RINO candidate is falling fast, while the Conservative is on the rise.
Details at www.tcotreport.com
The election will be held on November 3.
Details at www.tcotreport.com
The election will be held on November 3.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Nationwide Tea Party Leaders Launch TopTenHealthCareQuestions.com to Rank Unanswered Health Care Questions
Nashville -- September 24, 2009/ ( http://www.myprgenie.com) -- The national leadership team of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, in conjunction with the Common Sense Citizens’ Network, today launched the website www.toptenhealthcarequestions.com , inviting all Americans to help develop a list of top ten unanswered health care questions for President Obama.
Ken Emanuelson, a leader of the Common Sense Citizens’ Network, said “Over the next week, we’re asking our fellow American citizens to visit the site and vote for the ten questions they'd most like President Obama to answer. The following week, we’ll submit this list to the White House and we’ll see if they provide any answers.”
President Obama has repeatedly told the American people that he seeks a serious, good faith dialogue with his critics about his health care ideas, but so far the conversation has been more of a Presidential monologue than an honest two-way discussion. Not only has the President failed to reveal the details of his health care plan, he has also failed to respond to serious questions about the broad concepts he’s mentioned in his many speeches. The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition and the Common Sense Citizens’ Network hope to use these questions from the American people to move this dialogue forward.
Michael Johns, an expert on health care policy who has spoken at tea parties in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and many other cities, said, “Like many Americans, we see a disturbing pattern of behavior that has developed at this White House. Yet promises of transparency and open doors are followed by highly partisan back room politics that exclude opposing views. This past April 29th, for instance, President Obama said at an Arnold, Missouri rally that he was ‘happy to have a serious conversation’ with the Tea Party Movement about health care and other policy challenges. The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition accepted the invitation in a May 1st letter to the White House, yet to this day no one has responded.”
National spokesperson for the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition Michael Patrick Leahy echoed this theme. “At a town hall meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina on July 29, President Obama said ‘I will be available to answer any question that members of Congress have. If they want to come over to the White House to go over line by line what’s going on, I will be happy to do that.’ Last month, Congressman Phil Roe sent the President two letters asking him to set a time and place to conduct such a line by line review. As with our own earlier letter, President Obama has failed to respond to Congressman Roe. This leaves us wondering whether any of the President’s promises are genuine, or if they are all merely cynical acts of political theater that he never intends to honor.”
Voting on the top ten unanswered health care questions for President Obama begins today at www.toptenhealthcarequestions.com and continues until next Wednesday, September 30. Anyone who wants to submit a new question can do so on the site. Based on the votes, the top ten questions will be submitted to the White House on Thursday morning, October 1. Any responses from the White House will be posted on the following Monday. The sponsoring groups also plan to share the results with all members of Congress.
For more information, visit www.toptenhealthcarequestions.com or contact Nationwide Tea Party Coalition www.nationwideteapartycoalition.com.
Ken Emanuelson, a leader of the Common Sense Citizens’ Network, said “Over the next week, we’re asking our fellow American citizens to visit the site and vote for the ten questions they'd most like President Obama to answer. The following week, we’ll submit this list to the White House and we’ll see if they provide any answers.”
President Obama has repeatedly told the American people that he seeks a serious, good faith dialogue with his critics about his health care ideas, but so far the conversation has been more of a Presidential monologue than an honest two-way discussion. Not only has the President failed to reveal the details of his health care plan, he has also failed to respond to serious questions about the broad concepts he’s mentioned in his many speeches. The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition and the Common Sense Citizens’ Network hope to use these questions from the American people to move this dialogue forward.
Michael Johns, an expert on health care policy who has spoken at tea parties in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and many other cities, said, “Like many Americans, we see a disturbing pattern of behavior that has developed at this White House. Yet promises of transparency and open doors are followed by highly partisan back room politics that exclude opposing views. This past April 29th, for instance, President Obama said at an Arnold, Missouri rally that he was ‘happy to have a serious conversation’ with the Tea Party Movement about health care and other policy challenges. The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition accepted the invitation in a May 1st letter to the White House, yet to this day no one has responded.”
National spokesperson for the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition Michael Patrick Leahy echoed this theme. “At a town hall meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina on July 29, President Obama said ‘I will be available to answer any question that members of Congress have. If they want to come over to the White House to go over line by line what’s going on, I will be happy to do that.’ Last month, Congressman Phil Roe sent the President two letters asking him to set a time and place to conduct such a line by line review. As with our own earlier letter, President Obama has failed to respond to Congressman Roe. This leaves us wondering whether any of the President’s promises are genuine, or if they are all merely cynical acts of political theater that he never intends to honor.”
Voting on the top ten unanswered health care questions for President Obama begins today at www.toptenhealthcarequestions.com and continues until next Wednesday, September 30. Anyone who wants to submit a new question can do so on the site. Based on the votes, the top ten questions will be submitted to the White House on Thursday morning, October 1. Any responses from the White House will be posted on the following Monday. The sponsoring groups also plan to share the results with all members of Congress.
For more information, visit www.toptenhealthcarequestions.com or contact Nationwide Tea Party Coalition www.nationwideteapartycoalition.com.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Conservative Radical University Launches Two Successfull Classes in Tyler, Texas and Memphis, Tennessee
Thanks to Kevin Hard, certified instructor at Conservative Radical University who conducted a class on "An Overview of the Rules for Conservative Radicals" this past Saturday in Tyler, Texas. I participated via skype, but Kevin ran the show. Fifteen attendees and fifteen grades of "Excellent." Good job Kevin.
Three attendees have started the process to become certified instructors on their own!
Today, I taught the same class to twenty-five attendees in Memphis, Tennessee. The reviews were also "excellent," and we added another four to the list of those interested in becoming certified instructors.
Three attendees have started the process to become certified instructors on their own!
Today, I taught the same class to twenty-five attendees in Memphis, Tennessee. The reviews were also "excellent," and we added another four to the list of those interested in becoming certified instructors.
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