North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue: Perhaps We Should Suspend Elections

Nothing but her best intention at heart, I'm sure.

“I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won’t hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover,” Perdue said at a rotary club event in Cary, N.C., according to the Raleigh News & Observer. “I really hope that someone can agree with me on that.”

Perdue said she thinks that temporarily halting elections would allow members of Congress to focus on the economy. “You have to have more ability from Congress, I think, to work together and to get over the partisan bickering and focus on fixing things,” Perdue said.

Politicians are always keen on volunteering to give back power they usurped in times past. Always.

Your vote is the single most powerful tool that you have in our country and Bev Perdue is wishing to take that away from you.

Thanks to Jason.

Two Special Elections; Two Republican Victories

In NV-2, it wasn't even close: 57-38%.

In NY-9, the race was a little bit tighter but Republican Bob Turner walks away with a win. Looking at the breakdown of the boroughs, Turner smashed Democrat David Weprin in Brooklyn. About a two to one voting difference, 68% to 32% at this time (a small number of districts are still reporting in but I doubt that number would change much).

This was Anthony Weiner's legacy. This and a picture of his junk he tweeted.

For Those Of You Who Live In CA-36, Don't Forget To Vote Tomorrrow

Unless you're planning on voting for Janice Hahn then her vote is Wednesday.

Turn Right has more of the details about Hahn and how she pissed away millions of tax dollars.

There is one day left before the special election runoff for the 36th California Congressional seat. Tomorrow, the people will vote.

We call on all members of the conservative media – local and national – to put aside, for just one day, their usual concerns to let their audiences know the following:

That Janice Hahn is another corruptocrat in the tradition of Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and the rear-guard of the Democrat Party – George Soros, Jane Harman, and others of such ilk.

That no one who believes in free speech should ever support a politician who resorts to purchasing the local media, death threats, hackers, “Cease and Desist” letters, intimidation, and thuggery to hide her sordid past and criminally incompetent mismanagement.

The more I find out about Janice Hahn, the more it's apparent that she needs to be kept out of office and away from any kind of political power.

Thanks to Stacy McCain who has more about the story.

A Couple Of Notes About Trump

For all of the sound and fury about how the Birth Certificate is over nothing, it's worth noting that The Donald made The President blink over the issue.

Part of the reason why I think Trump was pushing the issue is that many people want someone to push back. Mitt Romney does it but he doesn't get any traction. Presumably because he doesn't go anywhere but Fox News to make his case*

Not picking on Mitt in particular but he was the first example that popped into mind.

In Trump's quest to be the text book example of the political populist, he's merely bomb-throwing. Not bad in and of itself but if he really wants to run for president, I think that person needs to be more. . . subtle in their approach.

There is a fine line to tread for conservatives running for president. One side is that they can't be too polarizing but yet they can't yield too much ground to the other side in terms of the argument. Ronald Reagan was the perfect example of that. With a small joke, he could slice his opponent's arm off and they wouldn't realize it until they tried to answer their cell phone later.

Anyway, when the leader of the free world backs down from a real estate developer with a bad comb-over, I would hate to think what would kind of capitulation would go on should Obama have to face down a real threat.

*A poor assumption on my part if in case he has gone on other networks. I'll cop to that much (Google? What's that?) but I think it's a safe guess. If he had and made his point, I'm pretty sure it would have been in the subtext of the blogosphere and more people would be comfortable in saying that he's their guy if he can handle the clowncar that is PMSNBC. But I digress.

The Crystal Ball

Larry Sabato has his baseline 2012 electoral college map available. This is the map upon which all the campaign strategies (and predictions) will begin for candidates considering a run against Obama.

There are 270 electoral college votes needed for victory. Looking at the map and the baseline votes, the optimistic view suggests Republicans will need to gain 100 electoral votes beyond their solid red states (safe and likely). The "leans" Republican and "toss up" states total to 121 votes, if every one of those is won by a Republican nominee.

This is going to be extremely difficult and challenging, with or without a strong GOP nominee. Here's why. Several of those states are union states, which will fight to the death for Obama. They are going to focus on those states heavily with money and their SEIU thug tactics. Another factor will again be retirement states such as Florida and North Carolina. Those two toss up states alone comprise 44 electoral votes. It is close to impossible, basing estimates on this baseline, to see a Republican 2012 victory without those two states.

The good news here is that we have some newly-elected Republican governors in the union states and in Florida. If they are building strong GOP state chapters and the RNC is focusing on helping them organize, this could help a Republican nominee. Also, there are some redistricting factors that haven't even been realized yet and they could play heavily into the favor of the Republicans.

Bottom line: if the GOP puts up a weak candidate, who can't generate enthusiasm for a GOP "big tent" by reaching conservatives and independents, then the optimistic scenario is completely unattainable. Polarizing candidates won't win the electoral votes needed in the toss-up states. Difficult and controversial issues (entitlement spending and the national debt) are going to have to be treated with kid gloves by the GOP nominee. He or she will have to swing hard at Obama and present realistic and maybe even reserved solutions. It can't be emphasized enough how important it will be to select a candidate who can win. It may not be the favorite of the Tea Party or the establishment GOP or the independents or the social conservatives, etc..., but a Republican who can unseat Obama will certainly be my favorite.

I won't go into the gory analysis of the pessimistic viewpoint of the electoral votes needed by the GOP in 2012. I think the "optimistic" view sets a difficult enough tone by itself.

Will Trump Perot Up The 2012 Elections?

It has been amusing to listen to Donald Trump ask things about the birth certificate that a lot of people want to ask. He can afford to.

And the birth certificate is something that Barack can put an answer to if he wanted but it's a device his water-bearers use to marginalize any of his critics and try to divide the bases opposition. Watch any of the talking heads in the media badger Republicans and you'll see what I mean.

Talking Head: Do you believe Barack was born in the US?

Republican: Yes, I do. That's what he said.

Talking Head: But what about all these people who want to see it?

Republican: I can't speak for them.

Talking Head: But would you denounce them?

And on it goes. Just once I would like to see a Republican say that this is an issue that belongs to the President. And why won't he release his school records?

Back on point.

Trumps bid for President seems to be more for his own ego rather than what's best for the country. If he can't have it, no one can.

Donald Trump will “probably” run as an independent candidate for U.S. President in 2012 if he does not receive the Republican party’s nomination, he told the Wall Street Journal in a video interview on Monday. …

“I am very conservative,” said Mr. Trump. “The concern is if I don’t win [the GOP primary] will I run as an independent, and I think the answer is probably yes.” Mr. Trump said he thought he “could possibly win as an independent,” adding, “I’m not doing it for any other reason. I like winning.”

With him flirting with a run as a Republican, he's sure to split the vote in the general election as an independent.

The Republicans are screwed unless they can get this guy to run as an independent (Via IowaHawk from Twitter):




He'll divide the Democrat vote for sure.

Now gaze as this blog and feel enlightened.

And if I had known about this guy's scam a few months before, I wouldn't have this restraining order against me from my local Hooter's restaurant (These are the jokes, people).

It's Official: Tim Kaine For Senate

The man who presided over the largest political bloodbath (blah, blah, blah, new tone blah, blah) in Congress is now the chosen boy to run for Senate in Virginia.

Remember, this logo was Tim Kaine's most significant contribution to the Democrat Party while he was the head of it.

George Allen To Run For Senate

Again.



Nothing against Allen but I'm not a big fan of rerunning politicians. I would rather inject some new blood into the system. More state level senators and delegates could step up.

And speaking of new blood, Senate Candidate Jamie Radtke had this to say about Allen throwing his hat in:

“It’s been great to hear from conservatives and Tea Party supporters across Virginia who are supporting my run for the U.S. Senate in 2012. They want a new generation of predictable, dependable conservative leader whose positions are clear and straightforward.

“I welcome George Allen to the campaign. Last week I invited Mr. Allen to join me in meeting with the voters in monthly Town Hall meetings around the Commonwealth, and today I am extending that invitation again.

“Twelve years ago when George Allen was running for the U.S. Senate, he pledged his
commitment to a balanced budget, reducing spending and reducing the debt.

“Then he went to Washington and voted for spending measures that increased our national debt by $3.1 trillion and voted for $90 billion in earmarks.

“Now, 12 years later, George Allen is making the same promises again. George Allen must explain his record on deficit and pork barrel spending, as well as gun rights, abortion, and his endorsements of Republicans such as Arlen Specter.

“Senator Allen was part of the Washington establishment, and he still is. If we want to change Washington we need to change the people in Washington, and elect a new generation of strong leadership to the Senate who will make principled decisions. I look forward to proving I am that person for Virginia.”

Dave Weigel and Erick Erickson have more about George Allen's issues.

I'm not endorsing either one yet. There are issues with both. Allen has his history and Radtke has, well, none. But that's what blogs and primaries were invented for, right?

If You Happen To Live In The Powhatan, Virginia Area. . .

Be sure to consider voting Todd Rojcewicz for the Board of Supervisors.



Todd is a good man, a Marine and is stepping up to be a citizen legislator. Sure, he's wearing a Boston Red Sox ball cap in the above video when a Detroit Tigers cap would have been more preferable. But we aren't going to agree on every single issue and that's okay.

It's not too early to start eying up a good candidate for next year.

Christine O'Donnell: Mea Culpa?

I see that Robert Stacy has another postmortem about Delaware— as if another one was needed— and I’ve been putting off doing mine so here it is.

Am I at fault for losing control of the US Senate by supporting Christine O’Donnell over Mike Castle and Chris Coons? No.

Need more?

The most grievous charge against Christine O'Donnell is that not only did she lose her race, she lost others as well. Usually, the names names Ken Buck in Colorado and Dino Rossi in Washington are dropped. I have to cry bullshit on that. A race in Delaware affects races two time zones away?

If— this is not an admission— that was the case, then Pat Toomey would have been affected as well. Much of Delaware is a suburb of Philadelphia. O’Donnell needed to advertise on Philly TV in order to cover a significant portion of the population in Delaware. Why didn’t she tank Toomey? He won.

It’s more about finger pointing and what-ifs more than anything else. It was said that Mike Castle had a proven track record— until he didn’t— with voters in Delaware and would have easily won the election-- until he lost.

So by that logic Linda McMahon should have had a cake walk with the proven liar that is Dick Blumenthal. She was the establishment pick by the GOP and the NRSC. She distanced herself from Sarah Palin and any Tea Parties. Yet she was soundly beaten by a guy who most likely to be typecast as a pedophile in most movies.

McMahon ran against Peter Schiff and Rob Simmons in the GOP Primary for Connecticut, both of whom were superior candidates. Schiff is an economic prophet and Rob Simmons is a certified war hero. On paper, she should have been dead last to the other two. But money talked and McMahon had the deepest pockets of the three.

But I have yet to see the spit on the sidewalk when people mention Linda McMahon’s race. No snarky ‘recriminations’ postings about her. No one is wailing in the streets wearing sackcloth and ashes. Her loss was almost as bad as Christine O’Donnell’s. If anything, McMahon’s loss is more directly related with the loss of Joe DioGuardi and Jay Townsend in New York. Connecticut is as much of a suburb of New York City as Delaware is of Philly.

I think most if the blame being directed toward O’Donnell is due to the fact that the Tea Party and Sarah Palin supported her. O’Donnell obviously wasn’t the party pick so with her loss the GOP and others are throwing their arms out of socket pointing towards her direction and blaming her from the 'potential control' of the Senate to their food coma they had on Thanksgiving.

Out of spite, the GOP and many others on the right-- acting as an echo chamber for the MFM-- repeated all the charges that the MFM has said about O'Donnell. She’s a religious kook, a witch (burn her), she’s paranoid, she turned Karl Rove inot a newt (he got better) and personally lost control of the Senate despite all evidence to the contrary.

If you wonder why she was thought to be paranoid, consider this. She didn’t receive any help from the Delaware Republican party. She was bad mouthed by Karl Rove repeatedly the very night of her primary win. And it took the NRSC about a day to try to squelch rumors that they weren’t going to support her. Any wonder where she might get the feeling that they were out to get her?

She had her faults. She was poorly organized with her campaign. I have it on good authority that they weren't really expecting to win the primary. The “I’m not a witch” ad was awful. The multiple cancellations for TV interviews. I think she stumbled out of the primary gate and never was able to find her footing. Understandable considering she was getting pummeled by both sides of the isle, which really isn’t an excuse but a statement of what happened to her.

What I know about her is that she wasn’t the strongest candidate but I still would have preferred her over Mike Castle any day of the week.

So do I still need to offer a mea culpa? I did miss-read the Big Red Wave, after all. Why take the ‘safe’ bet of Mike Castle when all the odds look to be in your favor?

Well, if you consider the recent vote in the Senate, chances are that Castle would have been one more Republican voting for the Farm bill that needed to be defeated.

So no, I don’t need to say I’m sorry for supporting O’Donnell.

If anyone says that O’Donnell lost someone else’s election, look behind that person. There is either a party loyalist hack or a wannabe party player saying that.

Do you know what was really scary about Christine O’Donnell? Nothing about being a witch or human sacrifice or that she was going to ban masturbation. It was that even though she was a known quantity in Delaware— she ran several times for office before— the rank and file of Republican voters rejected the party’s pick of Mike Castle. It wasn’t who she was but what she represented. She was a choice, not an echo. A departure from the normal power brokers and gave the people a real choice in that election.

That’s the real crime she is guilty of.

Joe Miller: Post Mortem

Yeah, I think he's toast.

Robert Stacy plays Quincy to the write in campaign that Leeza MoreCokePlease engaged in to beat Miller in the general election.

Some habits die hard. Lunch MacAndCheese's name needed to be spelled right-- at least close-- for it to count, if I recall correctly. I wasn't going to help out.

Drinking Game For The Night

To help clear up any of the spin when listening to the MFM report on the election results. Glad I'm not playing right now. I wouldn't be able to stumble back to bed from my desk.

One more rule. Drink for every time a liberal calls John Boehner "John Boner".

These Are The People Who Will Cancel Out Your Vote

So get out there and punch that ticket, dislodge that hanging chad, touch the computer screen, fill in the line between the two brackets on the oversize ballot and-- who knows if these machines are still out there-- pull that lever tomorrow.



Then the real work begins.

Because for the most part, we'll be turning over the keys to the Republicans. They didn't drive the car into the ditch-- that was the Democrats in Congress-- but they damn well came pretty close before giving up and handing the keys off to someone else. And we all know who that is.

So get out and vote. Except for Democrats. They are voting on Wednesday.

Virginia Elections Information

There's more than a couple of candidates up for election next Tuesday. A couple of ballot initiatives are on the ballot as well.

The Richmond Tea Party has the 411 on that.

It helps at times because many initiatives are worded in such a way where, "A yes vote will negate the validation of the proposed legislation by not allowing it go forward with. . ." and so on and so forth.

I blame the lawyers.

It's Up To You

In a world. . .



Thanks to my in-laws for finding this.

This Was Mighty Big Of Him

John Cornyn emailed me to say, "She is the nominee and I am in charge of the NRSC. I guess I ought to do something".

Let there be no mistake: The National Republican Senatorial Committee – and I personally as the committee’s chairman – strongly stand by all of our Republican nominees, including Christine O’Donnell in Delaware.

The larger issue is why was this letter of clarification sent out if there was any confusion on the matter?

Political Ads Done Right

Tip of the hat to The Other McCain for this.

Ladd Ehlinger Jr. certainly knows his craft.



Yes, the Don Dino is Even Sayet. Didn't realize it right away until Smitty made the connection.

For more about Ladd, Ace interviewed him here.

Joe Miller Moneybomb

Via Ace.

It looks like Lisa Murkowski isn't going to fade off into the sunset. Rather, she's going to go kicking and screaming, bitterly clinging to Alaska's Senate seat as if it was her rightful sweet sixteen birthday present from her daddy. In a way, I guess it was.

Joe Miller needs your help more than ever.

This year's Republican primary in Alaska has come down to a fight between the establishment and the conservative grassroots. Unfortunately, Joe Miller and his homegrown base of conservative Alaskans are facing legal battles with well-funded special interests committed to maintaining the status quo in Washington.

With your support, Joe can continue his momentum; stave off the inevitable lawsuits, and cross the finish line with another victory for the conservative movement. Please donate 50, 75, or 100 dollars to preserve the integrity of Alaska's electoral system and ensure that the true conservative is on the ballot in November.

Help Joe return the power, land, and resources of the states to the people that live in them!

Ten Buck Friday Poll

As Carol at No Sheeples Here reminded me, it's the start of a new week and a new poll for Ten Buck Friday.

The goal of Ten Buck Friday is simple enough. At the end of the week, chip in ten dollars to the candidate of your choice or vote in the poll and donate to the winner at the end of the week. Think about it, for the price of two value meals throughout the week for lunch, you can throw a little support toward a worthy candidate.

This week has a few Gov. Palin endorsees on the list with Renee Ellmers, Sean Duffy, and Col. Allen West.

My vote goes to Renee Ellmers. It's for the safety of random strangers who happen to pass by Bob Etheridge.

Cross posted at Conservatives 4 Palin.

Are The Republicans Getting A Clue?

The Magic 8 Ball says "All Signs Point Yes".

Not sure if the Tea Party's message about fiscal responsibility* is getting through but I think the RNC is learning how to use the New Media.

The first ad plays to the base more than anything.


That was a piece of white bread as an appetizer. The red meat of the entrée is here. This is a good great example of messaging.



Who knew at the .47 second mark, Barack Obama was such a Larry the Cable Guy fan?

It's effective because it uses what the progressive members of the US Government say as a juxtaposition with things Ronald Reagan said. I only wish they more clearly identified the members of Congress in the video.

*Most of the Republicans were following the lead of George W. Bush with the government spending. Not a defense for them but more of an indictment of not having a spine to stand up to the defacto leader of the party. W's was not a conservative. At some point, the social liberalism aspects of Compassionate Conservatism will outweigh the fiscal conservatism aspects.

**Wow, reviewing this and I noticed quite a few tangents. Where's my Ritalin?