Pelosi is a moron!

I can’t tell you how stupid Nancy Pelosi must be. I spent most of my morning watching CSPAN, I saw Minority Leader Boehner, Roy Blunt, and Chairman Frank talk about the need for the United States Government to step in and do something to limit a further market collapse.

Then Speaker Pelosi had the following to say.



So what good does interjecting partisanship do for the American people? To me this sounds like a stump speech she should give tomorrow after the bill passed, not something you say on the floor of the House moments before a critical vote.

It shows an amazing lack of leadership and grace. Thank God for our Republican’s in Congress.

McCain wins the 1st Debate

I apologize for not doing a write up of the Presidential Debate between John McCain and Senator Barack Obama on Friday night. The debate I watched had a very confident John McCain who consistently pounded his inexperienced opponent, Barack Obama.

Now as we all know, many in the media saw it differently than I did. In my opinion I saw Obama have some good parts of the debate in the early going. He has hijacked the Republican’s populist argument of middle class tax cuts, while McCain focuses on spending and earmark reform. The problem for Obama is that when pressed to tell us he might have to rethink some of his programs in light of the federal government’s bailout of Wall Street, he simply said there are some things that are really important that we must do. Those things included everything he’s been running on, socialized health care and college tuition.

John McCain didn’t pander to the American people on Friday night, which is probably why some in the media thought Obama won. Now John McCain could have been more forceful on his position about the economic crisis, but he destroyed Obama on the foreign policy section of the debate.

To my surprise David Yepsen watched the same debate I did. His write up is a must read if you ask me.

More on the bailout when it happens.

McCain’s Power Right End Around

I’m still a little bit unsure about McCain’s decision about suspending his campaign to work on a bailout for Wall Street, but there was a huge development that happened yesterday that nobody has discussed yet. McCain distanced himself from President Bush, while at the same time marrying Obama to the Bush Administration’s financial policies.

I have to admit, it’s a brilliant move.

The Obama Campaign spent the entire summer and most of their convention making the argument that John McCain isn’t change; it’s just more of the same. I’m just amazed that Obama and the Democrats would associate themselves with the Bush Administration over the bailout of Wall Street. In yesterday’s meeting at the White House, President Bush and his advisors were desperate to do something, anything to help prevent an economic disaster, and the Democrats were quick to seize on Bush’s predicament and get what they want.

The only problem is John McCain and the Republicans in the House were not about to start writing blank checks to bail out crooked businesses. To make matters worse, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi let Obama run the meeting which apparently didn’t go well when Boehner and McCain were not simply going to rubber stamp the Democrat plan.

To John McCain’s credit, he has been saying for days that the current compromise plan was dead, so I don’t really know why in the heck Obama and the Democrats thought this was going to be a quick deal. These are complex and serious issues, and the thought that congress can write legislation to solve the problem in a matter of hours is ridiculous.

Do we need to take immediate action? Yes. But we better get this right.

Also the last time I checked in the majorities in the Senate and House agree on legislation, and pass it, and the President is willing to sign it, the legislation becomes law. So if Pelosi, Reid, Obama, and Bush think they have this thing figured out, get-r-done.

I understand why they don’t want to do it that way, but they are the ones in the big boy chairs.

So when it comes to the economy Obama and Bush are on the same page while John McCain stands in opposition. I doubt the Obama campaign could ever have seen themselves in this position, but McCain just pulled off a huge end around that provides him distance from Bush and Congress. Not a bad place to be if you ask me.

The Gambler

The presidential caucuses, primaries, and general election have taught us many things, but most importantly, it has taught us not to sit down at the poker table with John S. McCain. In June, McCain saw his chip lead dwindle to the extent that the other players at the table ignored him, heck some even let him double up a few times.

Through a series of gambles and gut checks McCain found his way. His intuition is uncanny, and his refusal to accept defeat is legendary. McCain’s move yesterday to suspend his campaign is a huge gamble; it’s yet another “Degree all in Moment” for McCain's campaign.

I’ll be really honest with you; I’m worried about the decision. Moves like these are usually made when your back is against the wall, and asking that Friday’s debate be postponed will be seen as a sign of weakness by some. On the other hand, if McCain is able to broker a compromise he stands to make gain a lot. I just don’t think that Senate Dems are going to be willing to sign on to anything McCain proposes.

In regards to the debate I think McCain needs to attend. If he is able to be in DC pounding out a bail out compromise, and then fly to Mississippi and pound Obama in the debate on foreign policy, McCain will come out looking good.

I’ve learned not to doubt John McCain, I’m just nervous that his luck may run out before November.

What say you? Do you think McCain made the right move to suspend his campaign to focus on the bailout compromise?

McCain heads back to Washington

John McCain is suspending his campaign, and going back to Washington D.C. to work on the legislation for the bailout plans. He also wants to postpone Friday’s debate to focus on America’s economic crisis.

This puts Obama in a difficult spot. McCain is calling for a bi-partisan solution, and urging Obama to join him, but as we all know, presidential candidates don’t like to follow another candidates lead.

Very interesting

Defend Freedom: Defeat Obama

The NRA has come out swinging against Barack Obama in their latest television ads. The NRA has released two ads, the first showcases an Iraq Veteran, and the second a tradition young family man. The ads are powerful, and have created chaos for the Obama campaign.

This morning on FoxNews, an Obama spokesman said the ads were full of lies and mistruths. The FoxNews host Megyn Kelly then asked if Obama supported gun bans, Obama’s spokesperson said “no”. However earlier this year the Obama campaign said that the DC Gun ban was constitutional.

So why is the Obama Campaign worked up about the NRA’s ads? Because Obama has had a difficult time in getting rural Americans to support his campaign, and ads like this make that even more difficult. Look for these ads to have a major impact in Wisconsin, Michigan, Virginia, and here in Iowa. While they might not be run on the air waves here in Iowa, expect for the NRA to convey the message to their members.

Phase 2: The Debates

I always break down the general elections for presidential candidates into three phases, the conventions, the debates, and the all out blitz for the final weeks of the campaign. John McCain somehow found a way to win the convention phase despite the 80,000 people who filled a football stadium to see Obama’s convention speech. The McCain campaign ripped the headline away from Obama by selecting Sarah Palin as his VP selection, and used a hurricane shortened convention to unite a Republican Party against Obama.

Going into the general election I would have said that the only phase that McCain could win is the debate phase. Obama has shown that he can give a great speech with the aide of a teleprompter, but when left to answer questions on the spot he suddenly sounds more like President Bush. I find this to be incredibly odd. McCain on the other hand has proven to be a strong debater, who tends to give straight answers to the questions.

While I think McCain has an advantage, don’t under estimate Obama. He is reportedly going to spend most of this week in preparation for the debate, and if he can some how get McCain worked up and out of his comfort zone, Obama could score a huge victory.

My advice to McCain would be to not try to be cute in his attacks against Obama. Respond when attacked, heck, call him out for going negative, but stay above the fray. Serious times, call for a competent, serious leader.

If McCain and Palin can win the debate stage, they will maintain their momentum going into November.

Culver is in Denial

I forgot to mention this the other day. Apparently Governor Chet Culver isn’t worried about the financial crisis that our country is dealing with. This is from the Cedar Rapids Gazette:

The next president will have to "figure out why our national economy is going in the tank," Culver said. "I'm not worried that Wall Street will affect Iowa" in the four months until the next president takes office.

"We've got a very stable economy," the first-term Democrat told The Gazette Editorial Board on Tuesday. "Our unemployment rate is a point-and-a-half below the national average. I was just at a groundbreaking in Newton for 500 new jobs. We've created 10,000 jobs in the past year-and-a-half. Standard & Poor's told us Friday our bond rating is going from AA+ to AAA. We have more money in our cash reserves than any time in our history."

Maybe our good friend Auditor Dave Vaudt should knock on the Governor’s door and remind him that the money in the cash reserves is already spoken for in next year’s budget, which is why Culver can’t call for a special session because the state doesn’t have the money to help its citizens. This is what happens when you increase state spending by a BILLION dollars in two years.

The State of Iowa is broke. Our financial situation is dire. For the upcoming fiscal year, Culver and the Democrats spent $370 million more than the state will receive in revenues. They pass these irresponsible budgets with the hope that revenue growth will be around 10%, but they never take into account that our economy could sour. Vaudt’s calculations the next legislature will have to deal with a $569.3 million spending gap.

Think about it folks, this week Culver gave flood victims $50 million in relief from the state. Where did he come up with that number? Take the $620 million in the rainy day fund, minus the $569.3 million that the state is on the hook for in the next fiscal year, and Culver is left with $51 million to give to flood victims. Pretty simple math.

Iowa is in a financial crisis, and just like Fannie, Freddy, and AIG we are looking for the federal government to bail us out. It’s ridiculous to keep the execs at Fannie, Freddy, and AIG in place when the American taxpayer has to step in and bail out a private company. It is also ridiculous to keep our elected officials in office after they have run our state in to the ground.

Cut and Run

America’s Financial Crisis – Pelosi and Democrats want to cut and run.

When the war in Iraq got tough and American casualties escalated – Democrats wanted to cut and run.

When the floods hit Iowa, and our people were hurting – Democrats went on a five week vacation.

America now faces the most serious financial crisis since the 1930’s – Democrats are clueless and are saying that they may adjourn instead of being part of the solution.

And where is that flood relief package Nancy Pelosi promised when she was in town?

I’m sick and tired of people like Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Dave Loebsack, and Chet Culver blaming the Bush Administration for every problem we face, and when it comes time to solve the problems our country faces, they cut and run. But don’t fool yourself; they will campaign on these issues even though they refuse to do anything about them.

Sarah-palooza hits Iowa

John McCain and Sarah Palin are making an airport rally stop in Cedar Rapids today. Excitement of their trip to the Hawkeye State is reminiscent of that of when Bush visited the state in 2000 and 2004. I never thought we would see this level of excitement from Iowa Republicans this cycle.

While the Democrats have better ground game in the state, don’t underestimate a Republican base that is motivated. McCain’s maverick ways give Republicans a great opportunity to pick up the support of independent and no-party voters. Iowa will be decided not by Republicans or Democrats, but by who can motivate and turn out those independents. McCain is the best positioned to do that.

McCain Leading in Iowa?

Victory Enterprises based in Davenport, Iowa has released the results of its recent poll of 402 registered voters. The poll showed John McCain with a 48% to 42% advantage over Barack Obama. A third of the respondents were Democrat, Republican, and no party voters.

The poll stands in contrast to the Des Moines Register Poll which showed Obama with a 12% lead over McCain. The Iowa Poll is conducted by Selzer & Co. Inc. of Des Moines. Selzer was spot on with her final polls before the Iowa Caucuses and the Republican Primary in Michigan.

The difference is that the VE poll chose to focus on only registered voters, and with Iowa’s new same day voter registration law in effect they are not accounting for any participation from unregistered voters or illegal aliens.

Regardless, the VE polls shows us that McCain can move numbers in Iowa even without investing much into this state in the 2000 and 2008 caucuses. The McCain/Palin visit to Cedar Rapids this week should also help create some excitement about the ticket here in Iowa.

The poll isn’t all good news for Republicans as it shows Governor Culver with a 59% approval rating.

Is Obama against capitalism?

Sorry for being tardy with my post today. I’ve been watching the markets respond to what happened yesterday, and what the candidates had to say. Does it bother any of you when Obama say’s that economy needs a major overhaul, that we as a nation must do things differently? In his criticisms of McCain, Obama seems to be equally critical of capitalism, which fits into his philosophy of socialized health care and more government entitlements.

Obama makes me very nervous. As a political hack I understand the need to run against the current administration and tie your opponent to them as well, but Obama’s ads and comments about the economy are down right scary.

On another note, the attacks on Palin just will not stop. This on is worth watching.

Iowa’s real disaster: Governor Culver

My friends in Fly Over Country have been doing a great job keeping tabs on how Chet Culver is handing Iowa’s flood recovery. If you ask me the state hasn’t done a damn thing to help its citizens, instead Governor Chet Culver has leaned on the federal government to provide assistance.

I guess this should be expected in the post Katrina world. People, especially Democrats, like to sit back and play the blame game instead of being part of the solution. There is no doubt that FEMA is everybody’s favorite scapegoat, but we need to remember that every state and local government has a responsibility to provide for its citizens, not just the federal government.

Now I’ll admit that I haven’t followed the Iowa Floods as closely as I probably should have, but what exactly has Governor Culver done? Let’s see, he has created a new government agency, hired some lobbyists, and has made demands of the federal government. A moron could do that, wait….

Anyway, last week Culver said that he would not call special session of the legislature. The reason behind his decision is because the state is absolutely broke, and can’t afford to use their rainy day funds, because they need them to balance the books for the next fiscal year.

There is a lot of chatter out there that Culver is reminding people of Kathleen Blanco, the FORMER Governor of Louisiana. Like Blanco, Culver has done absolutely nothing to help the people affected. He’s good at pointing fingers at the Federal Government, but he needs to be putting pressure on local municipalities and counties to be getting the Feds the information they need so that those dollars can flow.

I don’t think the Federal Government asking for a recovery plan before they allocate funds is out of line, yet all Culver wants is a big ole pot of money, and when he doesn’t get it he cries to the media, and then calls out leaders of the minority party for playing politics because they want a special session.

Culver is out of his league; let’s send him down to the minors in 2010.

Implosion

For a while now I have been on record stating that Barack Obama will go down as the biggest flop ever to run for President. Just a few months ago it was inconceivable that John McCain would have any chance to win on November 4th. McCain lacked the support of the Republican base; he couldn’t raise the money needed, while Obama couldn’t do any wrong. Now it’s hard to see how Obama can turn things around, especially when you consider he’s not good debate settings.

For some people Obama’s fall is hard to comprehend. For us Iowan’s however, we saw an example of this in the 2006 election with the gubernatorial race between then presumptive Governor Jim Nussle, and Chet Culver. We know how that turned out.

It is said that the campaigns really start after Labor Day. In 2006 it was right after Labor Day when Jim Nussle spent at least 5 days explaining his position on abortion. It was a disaster, and his campaign was never able to recover. Culver stiffed armed Nussle in the debates, and the Nussle campaign got desperate and said that Chet Culver had secret plan to bring back touch play.

While it wasn’t as bad and Jim Ross Lightfoot’s totally nude dancing ads, it was an indication that campaign was on the wrong track. Neither Nussle or Lightfoot were able to capture Terrace Hill after being ordained the frontrunner in the early summer.

The same is happening with Obama. He is off message, his national convention didn’t do anything for him, and he’s going to struggle in the debates. He has spent days talking about Sarah Palin. Joe Biden recently asked a paraplegic state official to stand up to be recognized, and then stated that Hillary Clinton is probably more qualified to be VP than he is. Sure these things may seem minor, but they add up, and you simply cannot make mistakes in the final 60 days before an election because so many people are starting to pay attention.

Obama is even bad at his own events where he can drive the topics. The above electoral map gives McCain the White House, it’s from yesterday. McCain has Obama on the ropes, let’s do our part in helping deliver a knockout.

Almost forgot, Iowa-Iowa State Prediction: Clones 24 – Hawks 21

Hey, it’s not what I want, but it is their super bowl. They have pulled upsets against better Hawkeye teams…

Freedom isn’t Free; you have to fight for it.

As I sat down to figure out what to write today, the calendar on my desk caught my eye. Today isn’t just another normal day, today is the 7 year anniversary of the September 11th attacks, a series of events that forever will change our country.

What I’ve learned over the years is that Freedom is a commodity much like gold. Freedom is scarce and only can be found in a few countries. We happen to be blessed to live in a country in which it is abundant; in fact it’s so abundant that we want to share our freedom with the rest of the world.

Unfortunately there are evil forces in the world that don’t want to just stop America from sharing the blessings of freedom; they want to destroy the main source of freedom in the world, the United States of America.

We are just a few months away from electing a new President. The outcome of the election will determine the course for our Nation, and the standing of the world’s most precious commodity, freedom. There are some who believe that America needs to take a step back in global affairs, they want to negotiate a “peace” with Hamas and counties like Iran and North Korea.

I have never understood the viewpoint of appeasement. Freedom has never been, nor ever will be the result of a negotiation. Freedom is fought for and defended those brave men and women who wear the uniform of the United States Military.

Cindy McCain kicks a$$

If you are like me, you probably think that Cindy McCain is a wealthy attractive older woman that you have nothing in common with. In describing her personality I wouldn’t use the word warm.

So last night I was flipping through the channels on the TV and stumbled on the show E:60 on ESPN. It’s a documentary type show and they had a segment on Cindy McCain. It was refreshing to see a different side of her life that I don’t think most people have seen before.

Cindy McCain is a car nut, and has a need for speed.

The story talks about her attraction to auto racing, and her love of “drifting,” a driving style developed in Japan a number of years ago. It is a passion she shares with one of her sons, and it was his gift of a driving school that she says saved her life after a serious stroke a few years ago.

The below clip runs about 9 mins, but it’s worth your time.

Consider this, Cindy McCain would be the only first lady trained in executive protection driving skills. How cool is that? I kind of want to see her race First Dude Todd Palin, another racer.

Mother Hen Pelosi in to check on her chicks (Braley, Loebsack, and Boswell)

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was in Iowa yesterday. I’m still trying to figure out what the real purpose of the trip was. She visited Des Moines, Parkersburg, and made a stop in Cedar Rapids. After watching the news coverage the only thing that I can come up with is that Pelosi and the Democrats felt they needed to reassure Iowans that they will get the resources they need.

Did speaker Pelosi need to come all the pay to Iowa, on the taxpayer’s dime to do that?

Pelosi didn’t visit the 4th or 5th districts while in Iowa, and while the 5th District didn’t experience major flood damage, it did have a deadly tornado, and Charles City in the 4th District had major flooding. But I guess Congressman Latham and Congressman King are good at taking care of their constituents, while Congressmen Braley, Loebsack, and Boswell need Mother Hen Nancy Pelosi in their district to quell any frustration in terms of federal flood relief.

This is just another example of putting partisanship in front of leadership, and Iowans want and deserve better.

Iowa’s flood victims don’t need a pep rally, they need answers and results.

Hey Joe, respect your flag and PICK IT UP!

Leadership or Partisanship? You decide at the ballot box.

If you asked me what is the biggest problem facing our country today, I wouldn’t say energy prices, health care costs, or homeland security. While all of those are on all of our minds, and extremely important, I believe our biggest problem might just be partisanship.

It’s becoming more and more apparent that partisanship is far more important to some of our elected leaders in this state than providing the people with leadership in a great time of need. One needs to only look at the recent news regarding flood recovery to see a good example of what I’m talking about.

From Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal:

“It is our duty to quickly find the resources necessary to rebuild Iowa safer, stronger and more sustainable than ever. It’s also the duty of the Bush Administration to quit holding on to critical funding for disaster recovery that was approved more than two months ago by the U.S. Congress. Any further delay in releasing this funding is a disservice to homeowners and small business owners hit by flooding and tornadoes.”

While Gronstal is blaming Bush, FEMA is saying that Cedar Rapids is moving too slow.

So Gronstal pulls out his handy Blame Bush card, instead of questioning why Speaker Nancy Pelosi thought it was a good idea to go on a five week vacation before passing a flood relief package. Gronstal might also want to ask Congressman Dave Loebsack and Congressman Leonard Boswell, why they didn’t raise holy hell when their party thought getting Nancy Pelosi out on her book tour was a bigger priority than getting the people of Iowa the resources they need. Or maybe Gronstal should send a little no-doze to Cedar Rapids Mayor Kay Halloran.

Where was the outrage when Congress went on recess? Is anyone calling for Jim Prosser’s head as he’s been taking his time getting estimates to the federal government?

The real question is where are our leaders? This is when people like Congressman Loebsack should be leaning on Prosser, and making sure Halloran is doing what she needs to be doing, like staying awake. Loebsack and the rest of the Iowa delegation should have been leaning on Pelosi, to get a flood relief package passed BEFORE they went on recess.

This is the stuff that really matters to people. This is the time when we need leadership, but sadly it looks like we are just getting more partisanship. I have no clue what good Speaker Nancy Pelosi is going to do by visiting Cedar Rapids and Des Moines today. She just got around to sending Bush a letter the other day in regards to flood relief. Is there something she needs to see, or is she simply here to try and cover the fact that Congressman Loebsack is doing a terrible job?

Leadership matters.

And while you may be a Democrat, Republican, or independent voter, when you go to the ballot box you need to ask yourself one question; if the $hit hits the fan, who do I trust to do the job. Electing competent people to represent us is the best way to ensure that the people of our state get the relief that they need.

Put your Country First, vote McCain

When you take a step back, and think about where the Republican Party and the McCain campaign was a few weeks ago, and then fast forward to today and see where the Party and the McCain campaign is, the transformation is amazing. While the McCain campaign was taking the fight to Obama with a series of TV ads, there was always doubt that McCain would be able defeat Obama.

That doubt has replaced not by hope, but by determination in a hurricane shortened convention.

We have seen how hard it is for Iowa Republicans to unite our activists across our state, but this convention united us a party all across the nation. The unifying force is a heroic American named John McCain, and his runningmate and fellow maverick Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin.

For the past 3 days we have gotten to discover who Governor Palin is, but we also learned more about Senator McCain. After listening to Fred Thompson recount McCain’s story, I didn’t think anyone could have done it better, until John McCain stepped on stage and recounted his journey, and his undeniable love of this country.

As you all know I’ve had my doubts about McCain, but I truly believe that at this critical time in our Nation’s history, that John McCain and Sarah Palin are the leaders we need to change the culture and partisanship that prevents our country from moving forward.

We have 60 days until the election, let’s do all we can to elect John McCain the next President of the United States.

Krusty Kudos to the convention organizers, job well done. As I said before, Republicans know how to have an effective convention.

America’s Iron Lady?

Let me first admit that I took a lot of notes, had a lot of things I wanted to highlight from the various speeches, wrote down some of the great lines, and was all ready to handicap 2010 (Rudy, Mitt, Huck, Newt and maybe Jindal) but I threw all of it away because none of that matters, we have more important things to talk about.

The maverick Senator from Arizona, who in the past has denigrated the conservative right by passing campaign finance reform, and looking the other way on illegal immigration, also may have paved the way for another conservative revolution in America by selecting Sarah Palin to be his Vice President.

My expectations for Palin’s speech were high, so high that I was a bit nervous as she walked out to the convention floor. After days of having her family life probed, and the media calling her selection a “gimmick pick” that wasn’t truly vetted by the McCain campaign, Palin took the stage and with grace, humor, and resolve and then delivered the best republican speech that I can remember.

She owned that stage last night and in doing so broke the glass ceiling in the conservative movement in America. Sure Phyllis Schlafly is an icon but she’s not the messenger that Palin can be. There is no question that both Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee desperately want to be the face of the future of the conservative movement now must contend with Palin, who easily embodies what a conservative is.

Palin has probably had the most difficult first week on the campaign trail as anyone I can remember, not because of a gaff, but because of the instant attacks from the left and the media. Her speech last Friday was a home run, and she was out of this world last night. She will now have to make the rounds with the main street media, and I don’t think she will disappoint us.

What we saw last night was a woman who is very comfortable with who she is, and what she believes. As I watch her she reminds me of another Lady who also stuck firm to her beliefs and went on to become the first Prime Minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher played a little hockey in her young days too.

The attempts by the media that John McCain didn’t vet Palin were proven wrong last night. The notion that somehow Barack Obama is ready to be president but Palin isn’t ready to serve as Vice President doesn’t hold any water. Why? Because nobody goes into the oval office prepared for what may come their way. In 2000, nobody was talking about whether or not Bush or Gore was prepared to deal with the terrorist attacks against our county, but President Bush stepped up and rallied our Nation in its darkest hour.

When John McCain is elected President, and Sarah Palin Vice President, conservatives will have a new face for their movement, and American will finally have its own Iron Lady.

Sorry for the formatting Issues.

I apologize for the layout problems with the blog. Since I’m blogging from an undisclosed location this week things are a little different. I’ll see if I can figure the problem out, but for now just click on the post title and it should be formatted correctly.

Thank you for your patience.

Watch her rip... Dave Loebsack!

While not at the convention, another Republican candidate is feeling like taking on her Democrat opponent. Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks has released a TV ad, and scorching radio ad that basically says Dave Loebsack isn’t getting the job done when it comes to getting a flood relief package for the affected citizens on the 2^nd District.

I think the TV ad is good and makes a great point that while it’s great that the federal government is sending in money to help get the government buildings, but when are they going to do anything for the people who lost their home, for the people who lost everything? I mean, in the words of Wally Horn, these are all good Democrats Congressman Loebsack, do something.

Miller-Meeks’ radio ad cuts deep. It cites that Linn County, and the city Cedar Rapids have hired a K Street lobbyist to help get flood relief. I just have one question, what in the hell is Dave Loebsack doing? Not only are the taxpayers of the district playing Loebsack 160k a year, they also had to go out and spend another 200k in hopes to get the flood relief they need.

To make matters worse, where does that leave the communities outside of Linn County, who probably can’t afford a Washington DC lobbyist to help them get flood relief? With already two hurricanes that have causes significant damage, and maybe more on the way, those who have seen their processions swept with the June floods, have to be nervous that they may be forgotten because Dave Loebsack and his Democrat collogues thought it was more important to take a 5 week vacation than pass a flood relief package.

If you want my honest opinion, I think the Dems want to stretch this out through the fall. Was it a coincidence that yesterday as Miller-Meeks goes on the attack, Loebsack and Harkin announce 77 million dollars to repair government buildings in Cedar Rapids?

TV Ad

Radio Ad

Let it rip!

Sometimes we Republican get down in the dumps, but one thing is apparent, we know how to take care of business at when it comes time to gather for a convention. Let’s see here, we punted on night one because of Hurricane Gustav, night two was saw huge line-up changes, but we have already done more politically in one night, than the Democrats accomplished in their first three. But I guess that’s what happens when you have to kowtow to the Clinton’s

The first main speaker was the always gracious Laura Bush, who introduced the President. You have to give the President his due; the guy knows how to deliver a convention speech, even via satellite. I can only imagine what that speech would have been like if he had been there in person.

By far the best speech of the evening was delivered by Fred Thompson. Thompson speech went through every emotion. He defended Palin, and while I’m confident she can do that herself, it’s pretty clear that the boys got her back. Thompson telling John McCain’s story was powerful. He used lines like, “a man who never quits, can’t be defeated” and “McCain knows all about hope, it’s all he had.” McCain’s story dwarfs that of Obama’s tale of a community organizer.

The keynote of the night was Joe Lieberman. Lieberman, a Democrat, made a point to speak directly to other Democrats and Independents in his speech. Like Thompson, Lieberman spoke the McCain’s character and the need for American to elect the best leader, not necessarily the best speaker. made a point to speak directly to other Democrats and Independents in his speech. Like Thompson, Lieberman spoke the McCain’s character and the need for American to elect the best leader, not necessary the best speaker.

Unlike the Democrats, every major speaker who took the stage talked up McCain’s attributes and ripped Barack Obama. The Democrats spent days listening to how great Hillary was, what Bill accomplished, what Chelsea thought, and left the task of taking on McCain to Barack Obama. Trust me my friends, by the time John McCain takes stage on Thursday night, there will not be much left for him to say. Instead, McCain will be able to stay positive, and talk about his vision for America.

Obama’s campaign of Hope?

Obama spokesperson "Palin was a supporter of Pat Buchanan, a right-winger or as many Jews call him: a Nazi sympathizer."

Hope or Hate?

Simply Disgusting

Gustav – Babygate – Liberals Attack

It was a little difficult to enjoy the holiday weekend with a major hurricane slamming the gulf coast once again. I don’t know about you, but from Saturday morning on I was having a bad case a déjà vu, fortunately Hurricane Gustav weakened, but it still did plenty of damage to the gulf coast.

With Gustav dominating the headlines, John McCain and the Republicans wisely downgraded what was to be the start of their convention. Unfortunately the liberals didn’t see the need to put politics aside due to a devastating storm, instead they created a storm of their own by attacking the family of Sarah Palin.

By Saturday afternoon internet rumors that Governor Palin was not the mother of Trig, her 5 month old son with Down syndrome, were running rampant. They questioned how and why Governor Palin kept her pregnancy a secret from the people of Alaska. They were befuddled on how at 5 months pregnant she could look so good. In their minds it was clear; Palin must have pulled a fast one and was protecting her 17 year old daughter who was the real mother of Trig Palin.

We all know how bogus this is, but with their constant badgering of the Palin family the McCain campaign did admit that 17 year old Bristol Palin is 5 months pregnant, and is going to have the child and marry it’s father.

It was obvious to me that the Liberals want to tear down Palin, and they don’t give a rip if they destroy her children’s life in the process. Think about it, I’ve seem YouTube videos that focus on the Bristol’s midsection, and the father of her child has his photo on the Drudge Report.

Now I’m sure that some Lib Blogger or Blog Browser is going to stop in here and tell me that the Obama campaign has nothing to do with any of this. Trust me, as a blogger I know exactly how this stuff works. Campaigns float stories to bloggers all the time, especially ones that they can’t get traditional medial outlets to cover. They hope that the buzz on around the blogosphere will influence the traditional media to take a look at the story, and that’s exactly what it going on here.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that this story didn’t find its way on the blogosphere from some Alaska blog, no it came from Daily Kos, and it shouldn’t surprise you that their story can’t be found anymore.

This is dirty politics, and probably the worse I’ve ever seen.

As for the political ramifications of this, I think the Dems better walk carefully. They came out guns blazing on Palin last Friday, a sign that they are very nervous about her joining the ticket. While I’m sure the Left thinks they have damaged Palin with their personal attacks on her and her family, I think that they have just made her more human.

The brilliance of McCain’s pick is that so many women can see a bit of themselves in Palin, flaws and all. That wasn’t the case with Hillary Clinton. I can’t tell you how many people I talked too this weekend that were generally excited about the McCain/Palin ticket.

We have already seen the blogosphere and message boards change their talking points when Obama said that the families of the candidates are out of bounds. Now the left is questioning how Palin can serve as VP with 5 children, and they question her priorities as her daughter got pregnant while she was busy serving as Governor.

I find it strange to hear this from the party who reintroduced the theme of equal pay for and equal day at their convention. I guess they just can’t stomach a woman who wants to succeed professionally and have a family.

I have no doubts in Governor Palin’s abilities; I just wish the Liberals could focus on the issues, not her family.