An Uphill Climb Just Isn’t That Fun

     Harry Reid is in DEEP trouble, and he knows it.  He is facing an opponent he has never faced before—a Conservative female Republican who thinks fast on her feet and actually knows what she is doing.  Reid is also facing another opponent he has never faced before—the Tea Party.  The Tea Party has Reid in its sights and it looks as if they just may make the kill.
     After the slugfest that was the Republican Senate primary in Nevada, they settled on Sharron Angle.  Angle, a former teacher turned state Senator, originally started way back in the polls from fellow Republicans Sue Lowden and Danny Tarkanian.  However, after the Tea Party learned about Angle, they decided to endorse her and send out their grassroots support for her.  This is what fueled her candidacy and helped her win the primary.  Angle is now going full steam against Reid.  She has already raised close to a million dollars and Jim DeMint’s Senate Conservatives Fund has already endorsed her and sent her money. 
     Even though Angle has the grassroots support behind her, she still has to unseat one of the most powerful politicans (and Democrats) in Congress.  Reid has a campaign war chest of $9 million and he has already unleashed a ruthless, lying campaign ad against her; claiming she wants to phase-out Social Security and Medicare, as well as many other outrageous claims.  If we are going to take back the Senate in 2010, we must push back against the Democrats’ crazy campaigning and fight back hard. 

There Will Be Blood

     Ohio Senator George Voinovich (R) will not be seeking reelection this year.  That means that his Senate seat is now up for grabs.  This is going to be a bloody race for a Senate seat.
     The parties have chosen their nominees.  The Democrats have chosen current Ohio Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher as their candidate, and the Republicans have chosen former Congressman Rob Portman.  Both are fixtures in their respective sectors of Ohio politics and are strong, determined candidates.  Fisher has been in Ohio politics for 30+ years and brings the most clout with him out of the two.  Portman was a Congressman from Ohio’s 2nd District for 14 years as well as being the Director of the Office of Budget Management for the Bush administration from 2006-2007. 
     The two candidates are both hard campaigners.  Fisher already has started going negative with his campaigning as well as fundraising to replenish his depleted bank account after a bloody primary raced against Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.  Portman, however, who ran unopposed in his primary has close to 8 million dollars in his bank account which he is using on his Jobs for Ohio Tour.  However, Ohio is not an easy election environment for either party to compete in.  The northern part of the state is mainly Democratic and the southern part of the state is mainly Republican.  It is a perfect mix of all races as well as classes of people.  You can go from the rural eastern part of the state all the way to the western part of the state, which includes metropolitan cities such as Columbus, Cincinnati, and Dayton. 
     Personally, I endorse Rob Portman in this race.  He was my former congressman and he has the experience as well as the knowledge to vote in Washington with a clear head as well as judge with and independent opinion.  Lee Fisher, however, is a traditional Liberal Democrat.  He will only do what his party elders tell him to do, he will not form his own opinions.  He has also committed himself to much of the Obama agenda, which makes him a prime target for Tea Partiers and Conservative Republicans.  Ohio needs to replace a good senator with a great senator—and Rob Portman is just the person for the job. 

The Fox in Charge of the Hen House (Washington Edition)

     They're at it again!  Our bloated bureaucracy in Washington is trying yet again--and failing yet again--to "reform" another part of the American economy.  Last month it was health care, this month it's the financial industry.  Today, a vote to open debate on the fatally flawed financial "reform" bill failed.  When senators voted today, it was a split partisan vote.  Democrats all voted for opening debate while Republican voted against opening debate on the bill.  I applaud Republicans for this move because this was a flawed bill that in fact did very little to reform Wall Street at all.  In fact, all it did was add more regulation on top of more regulation in an effort to choke the entrepreneurial spirit out of the American economy and give Washington even more power.  
     Just because today's vote failed doesn't mean that the Democrats are going to try this again.  Harry Reid voted "no" along with the Republicans because that means he can bring the bill back to the Senate floor as early as tomorrow according to Senate procedure.  After the vote, President Obama released a statement that hotly scolded Republicans, saying "Some of these senators may  believe that this obstruction is a good political strategy, and others may see this delay as an opportunity behind closed doors, where financial industry lobbyists can water down reform or kill it altogether.  But the American people cannot afford that".  This is so ironic considering the fact that Obama accepted close to a MILLION dollars from Goldman Sachs, one of the biggest financial firms, during the 2008 presidential campaign.  He also employs many former Goldman Sachs employees such as Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.  
     The Democrats are in a scramble to accomplish as much of their agenda as possible before the 2010 midterm elections because they know that they face a pretty good chance of getting slaughtered at the polls.  Many Democratic senators are either barely scraping ahead of their Republican challengers (such as Washington's Patty Murray and California's Barbara Boxer), or are polling behind their Republican challengers (such as Arkansas' Blanche Lincoln).  Washington at this point is full of no more than petty politicians who are only looking to make a buck for themselves and to steal a buck from you.  Trust no politician and use common sense when you vote this November.

John McCain, Watch Out

Readers,

     I know that it has been a while since I last posted to this blog and I am sorry for that.  Now that we've settled that, let's get down to business.
     As we all know, John McCain was the Republican nominee for president in 2008.  He and Sarah Palin fared somewhat well in what was one of the most difficult election cycles for a Republican ever.  Truth be told, he ran one of the most weak campaigns in history and still tried to call himself a maverick when we all knew that he wasn't.  He was just another moderate Republican trying to tell brand himself as a conservative in a last ditch effort to capture the hearts and minds of the American electorate.  He tried and failed miserably at this.
     Now, he is trying to con Arizona into reelecting him again to yet another term in the Senate.  Yet, this time he just seems to be losing his luster with the people of Arizona.  J.D. Hayworth, former Arizona Representative in Congress as well radio show host, has decided to run against McCain.  Hayworth is a true conservative who actually sticks to his principles, unlike McCain who just compromises them and checks them at the door in a failing effort to win anyone over to his campaign.  While McCain was calling the 2001 Tax Cuts "those only for the wealthy", Hayworth was standing up for the common American and voted for them as well as helping to write them.  Some have branded him as an extremist while this is not true.  He is simply another fed-up American who is trying to get his message across to people.  I've personally been to his website, he is not a hater as I am certain some have said.  In fact, he sounds quite reasonable.  I really encourage you to go to his website, there you will find what I have already found; that J.D. Hayworth needs to be Arizona's next senator and that John McCain needs to go.
     Hayworth's bid is not just another folly.  According to a Rasmussen Reports survey, Hayworth is within five points otf overtaking McCain.  John McCain needs to watch out because this time he actually has a true challenger.  The people of Arizona are showing that they are fed up with a moderate and want a true conservative to be their senator.    

They're Running for the Hills!

     At 2:38 p.m on Monday, February 15, Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), announced that he will not be seeking reelection in this year's Congressional mid-term elections.  This is huge in this week's political news.  Senator Bayh is a force of his own in Indiana politics.  The former two-term governor of Indiana has won both of his two Senate terms with more than 60 percent of the popular vote.  This is a signal that Democrats are in dire trouble as the 2010 Midterm elections come even closer.  This shocking announcement comes just one month after Senate heavyweights Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND), announced within hours of each other that they will not be seeking reelection.
     This announcement gives Republicans the fire in Indiana they need to recapture that Senate seat.  Bayh has been in Republican cross-hairs for the past few years and this is their golden opportunity.  Former Senator Dan Coats has announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination as well as a slew of other Republicans.  However, I do not support Coats.  Electing a former lobbyist is not what Indiana should do if they want real change.  Any other Republican would be great, just not Coats.
     No matter how the cookie crumbles, this will be a very interesting Senate contest to monitor, because it has national implications.  Obama narrowly won the state in 2008 and if this Senate seat goes Republican it is a signal that Obama has lost complete touch with the Midwest, whom he performed well with in 2008.  I will say though, I hope this seat goes Republican because we need balance in Washington.

Good Call, South Carolina GOP

     The South Carolina Republican Party announced on Monday that it's merging with Tea Party groups around South Carolina.  They will be sharing resources, sharing a common message, and pushing the South Carolina GOP in a more conservative direction.  This is a good move for both groups.  The GOP in South Carolina will be prevented from facing a fate of irrelevancy and the Tea Party will be able to get its small, limited government message out on a big scale.  This is something state GOP parties as well as the RNC should do.  If the Tea Party were to become its own political party that would split the Republican vote, therefore allowing for Democrats to easily sweep elections.  If the GOP and the Tea Party would merge, it would do what is happening in South Carolina.  The GOP would be able to carry a current, relevant message and the Tea Party would be able to get its message of smaller government, lower taxes and lower spending out on a national level.  A GOP-Tea Party merger would prove damaging for the Democrats and advance the cause of Conservatism so that the Democrats would have a very, very strong rival to go up against in November of this year.  

Wake Up, John McCain!!

Readers,

     A recent Rasmussen Reports survey showed that incumbent Arizona Senator John McCain (R), is facing tough opposition from former Rep. J.D. Hayworth.  The poll showed McCain with a slight edge to Hayworth, 45% for McCain to Hayworth's 43%.  This is troubling for the longtime Arizona senator who was just last year the Republican nominee for president. 
     Some experts believe that the reason for this poll tightening is the difference between the two Republicans on the issue of immigration.   McCain supports "comprehensive immigration reform," which includes a pathway to citizenship that some commentators have deemed "amnesty".  Hayworth supports ending illegal immigration with tighter border security measures, which some believe have helped him in this race. 
     These experts also believe that this may be a race that shows the direction of the GOP in the future; whether they will move to the center or to the right.  This was demonstrated earlier this year in the hotly contested New York 23rd District House race, where moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava dropped out of the race and left it to Conservative party nominee Doug Hoffman and Democratic party nominee Bill Owens to slug it out.  Owens eventually won, but the race showed that Conservatives will not put up with a moderate GOP and will move to another party if need be. 
     McCain needs to watch out, or else he will lost his party's nomination for the Senate.

Kudos, Senate Republicans

Readers,

     Today, Senate Republicans stood their ground and said NO to opening debate on Harry Reid's monstrocity that will cripple our healthcare system here in America.  Not even ubber-moderate Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe (both from Maine), voted to start debate. 
     I can tell you all with almost certainty that IF passed, American healthcare as we know it will be gone.  The bill the Senate will be voting on is a 2,074 page mega-bill that will drastically damage healthcare.  First of all, it includes the newly famous "public option", which is Democratic code word for government-run healthcare.  With this government-funded dark horse in the healthcare field, private insurance companies will be forced out of business because this public option health insurance company will crowd the marketplace.  It will not be forced to turn a profit because they are run by the government; and if you don't believe this will happen then look at how GM is doing.
     Also, this healthcare bill is a JOB KILLER.  It forces companies, even mom-and-pop establishments, to buy health insurance for every worker.  This probably doesn't sound too bad to you but the plans these business have to provide have to be on the list of government-approved plans that this bill mandates be created.  These government-approved plans will be very expensive, forcing small business that have to provide employees with them to either lay-off workers or just close up shop all-together.
    Lastly, there is no provision in this bill that opens the purchase of health insurance across state lines.  If people were able to buy health insurance across state lines this would drop the price of healthcare and health insurance.  Because there is no provision like this in the current Senate or House bill, the price of health insurance will SKYROCKET!
     Remember, before you make up your mind on whether or not to support this bill, read it and look at every page carefully; this is your health and wealth we are talking about here!