Archive for the ‘National Politics’ Category

It looks like Ford, GM and Chrysler won’t be getting their share of the bailout cash anytime soon.

Congressional efforts to rescue Detroit’s auto makers collapsed Thursday, with lawmakers saying the industry lacked credible plans to return to profitability.

The decision came after two days in which leaders of three of America’s largest corporations pleaded for a taxpayer-financed rescue from lawmakers in front of a national television audience. The spurning of their pleas leaves in question the future of companies that have been synonymous with American industry for decades and together employ 239,000 people in the U.S.

Are they completely left in the lurch? Not entirely, though it would require them, in any given week, to do more than fifteen minutes of real actual work.

Democrats in Congress offered only a glimmer of hope, saying they would reconsider a rescue if General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC submit convincing turnaround plans by Dec. 2.

“Until they show us the plan, we cannot show them the money,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat.

Which will inevitably lead to automakers coming back to congress to say….

Here is an interesting clip on the auto bailout form MSNBC’s Harball featuring Pat Buchanan (looking more like an idiot really, though he makes an occasional reasonable point) and James Gattuso of the Heritage Foundation.

In addition, here is your bailout thread for Friday.

Assuming Janet Napolitano is the next Secretary of Homeland Security:

Fascinating ramification of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano leaving her state to become Obama’s Secretary of Homeland Security: “Republican Secretary of State Jan Brewer would serve the remaining two years of Napolitano’s term, as next-in-line to the governorship. Brewer, a former state legislator, would appoint a replacement for secretary of state.”

An AZ GOP insider goes on to note:

Since Arizona is experiencing a budget crisis, how much of this was a desire to “get out of town” before a meltdown ruins her reputation? … We will now have a Republican governor because the Secretary of State is Jan Brewer. Since we control both of the houses of the legislature, a lot of bills that were vetoed by Napolitino will probably pass. Personally I can’t imagine the Dems giving up a governor’s mansion.

The Democrats have lost their best candidate in Arizona. Napolitano was a canny politician who knew how to outflank the GOP. I think going to Washington and taking up Homeland security will not be a boon to her future political career. Several Republicans were lining up to run for governor in 2010. With Jan Brewer as an incumbent, they may modify their plans.

The top of the Arizona GOP ticket in 2010 (Brewer and McCain) should help down ticket.

In the meantime, I just glad we are getting her out of the state. Who said that the Obama Presidency would be all bad?

McCain (perhaps deprived of his only serious rival to run for reelection in 2010) is justifiably pleased with the choice.

Umm, right.  Really hard to distinguish voter intent there.

(H/T - American Spectator)

I know this is probably wrong of me, but you know what I don’t care.  I’m happy Ted Stevens lost.  I know a Democrat has his seat and it’s one seat closer to the 60 seat filibuster proof Senate for the Democrats, but Stevens is one Republican that should have lost a long time ago.  I just wish it had been to a Republican in the Alaskan primary.

But the loss of Ted Stevens continues the move of shedding irresponsible Republicans from the Federal and party roles.  His massive love for pork barrel spending no longer has to derail Republican efforts towards fiscal conservatism and bringing spending down in Washington.  Was he the only problem?  No.  I think we all know that, but he was a major part of the problem.  From the Bridge to Nowhere to being vehemently against reducing pork barrel spending, Stevens was a big government Republican that was way past his prime.

Sure some Republicans will weep for his loss.  If only because Governor Palin won’t be able to appoint his replacement.  But that was a long shot to begin with.  Let us rejoice that most of the Republicans who remain are those who actually believe is smaller government, who believe is fiscal belt tightening and desire to approach the nations energy and economic problems with common sense approaches.

I don’t weep for you Ted Stevens.  I rejoice at another political exorcism for our party.

This Frank Gray column caught my eye this morning in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette about a Decatur businessman who has flown his flag upside down since Tuesday’s election victory for President-Elect Obama.

None of this attracted much attention until, shortly after Tuesday’s election, Townsend hoisted the flag, which has long flown in front of his shop, in the upside-down position, a distress signal protesting the election of Barack Obama and Joseph Biden.

It didn’t take long for the reaction to come. A 17-year employee told Townsend he was quitting. The phone calls started, about 300 in the past few days.

Almost all have been in support, Townsend said, but some clearly weren’t. Shortly after noon Friday, a woman called to raise hell with the employee who answered. There was no mistaking what the call was about.

No, the female employee said, it has nothing to do with the fact that Obama is black. It’s about abortion. Obama is a supporter of abortion, and the business owner is absolutely opposed to it, period.

The call dragged on for several minutes, and it wasn’t friendly.

Then Townsend, who had been tied up on another call, hung up and explained himself.

Some have protested that flying the flag upside down is a desecration, but it’s not, he says, and firmly so, pointing to a printout of flag regulations.

An upside-down flag is a distress signal, indicating that people’s lives or property are in danger. With the election of Obama and Biden, lives are in danger: all the unborn babies that will die as the result of abortion.

And property is at stake. The recent bailout wasn’t a bailout of the American people, he said. It was the bailout of a bankrupt and foreign-owned Federal Reserve system.

The Indy Star now reports that the businessman has decided to take down his flag.

Side note … while googling to find a photo of an upside flag, I found this interesting article about Democrats using the “flag in distress” signal at the DNC Convention earlier this summer on their credential badges.

What do you think?  Over the top or not?

Last night I had the great fortune of attending the 19th Annual Indiana Chamber Awards dinner.  The featured speaker was Newt Gingrich and what an event that was.  Should the rumors of Gingrich seeking the RNC Chairmanship indeed be true and should he attain it, our party will be much the better for it.  We won’t be out of the wilderness, but would have a dedicated leader for our conservative cause who could potentially lead us out of the wilderness and keep the Obama Administration and the Democrat controlled congress on it’s toes.

He didn’t spend the evening talking about Republicans vs. Democrats, however.  He spent the evening talking about what makes good business sense and how to get our economy out of the doldrums.  He talked about the successes of small business and the failures of a bloated government.  He talked about solutions that makes sense and lauded praise on President-Elect Obama for his historic victory.

He injected humor and candor in his speech that he gave without notes.  He gave us all, as it were, fatherly advice, and left us with so much to think about.  One portion of the evening did stick out to me, that he mentioned also happens to be on youtube.  He was talking in practicalities about how small businesses make some of the most difficult tasks look simple, yet the Federal Government takes the simplest task and makes it exceedingly difficult.  He used the illegal immigration as an example.  And since I was in no position to take notes, the least I can do is share the video.  Maybe you’ve seen it, maybe you haven’t.  Either way, it explains why Newt Gingrich is a voice that conservatism needs again.

After you’re done watching the video, check out the Indiana Chamber blog for their take on the evening.

Today Congressman Mike Pence issued a letter to his fellow House Republican Conference colleagues officially announcing his bid for the position of Conference Chairman.

Key excerpt:

“As I said two years ago, we must pledge ourselves to promote and defend the agenda the American people elect Republicans to advance: defend our nation, our treasury, and our values. We must again embrace the notion that Republicans seek the majority not simply to govern, but to change government for the better.

“If you elect me as your new Chairman, I would take a page from the playbook of President Ronald Reagan who taught us that it is not enough to believe great things, we must effectively communicate great things to the American people.”

Pence has earned the backing of Leader Boehner (who may yet face a challenge from Wisconsin’s Paul Ryan), Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, and Rep. Devin Nunes, that last two having been rumored to mull a bid for the Conference Chairmanship.

On Tuesday night we saw what happens when Republicans stray from the principles of our nation’s founding and attempt to imitate the big government plans of liberalism on a more limited scale. We cannot expect to win elections if we govern without our principles. We cannot expect to regain the majority if we refuse to acknowledge where we went wrong and where we must change. Only when we begin to offer coherent, bold and vibrant solutions to the American people will they then trust us with the honor and responsibility of governing. We didn’t lose in 2006 and 2008 because we weren’t conservative enough; we lost because we weren’t principled enough and we did not clearly convey an alternate-and brighter-vision for what this country can be.

Having had the tremendous opportunity to serve as a Communications Director on a Republican Congressional campaign during this election cycle allowed me to see what is going wrong in House Republican leadership. While our campaign and many individual Republican Congressional campaigns around the country worked hard to convey a serious and positive message with specific details for how we were going to fight for the people in Washington, the same cannot be said of many of those in House Republican leadership. There was very little, if any, substantive and bold leadership coming from those who were supposed to be the leaders of our party in the U.S. House of Representatives. It is time for new leadership in the House Republican Conference.

While current leadership was often found wanting, there were some individual members of Congress who worked hard to build and convey a solid message. One of those individuals was Indiana Congressman Mike Pence. Over the critical summer and fall months of the ‘08 campaign cycle, Congressman Pence worked with fellow House Republicans to build up the conservative alternative to the socialist-leaning policies being trumpeted elsewhere in our party. He took time to campaign on behalf of conservative Congressional candidates in order to build a team that will get things done in the House. He didn’t wait for a leadership title, he started leading when others didn’t.

(Read more after the leap)

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(Post updated to reflect Democrat Scott Reske’s victory in HD 37 after barely holding off Republican challenger Kelly Gaskill)

Here is a note to my fellow conservatives and Republicans.

I did not have the highest of expectation for last night.  I had hope that John McCain might some how pull off a miracle (because really that’s what he needed to win), but it wasn’t a lot of hope.  And like many of you who may have stayed up fairly late (after the webcast which ended at midnight, I went out and picked up yard signs to get some much needed alone time) I’m still recovering from yesterday’s action.  But I came to this conclusion.

It’s time to face the facts.  Barack Obama will be our 44th president.  And a historic congratulations should be sent his way.  But we should take solace in the fact that Democrats did not net major gains in the House or get their filibuster proof Senate, though they could still up with (a worst case scenario) 59 seats.

But there were some positives for us as well last night.  Governor Daniels smoked Jill Long Thompson (no surprise there) and Greg Zoeller and Tony Bennett won their statewide races.  The Indiana House will end up with only one seat gained by the Democrats after much hand wringing they could end up with as many as a three to four seat gain. On the congressional level.  Everybody stayed the same.  Many thought Congressman Souder could be a loss in the Republican column, but he showed his tenacity and didn’t just win by a small margin, he kicked his young upstart opponent to the curb.

But now onto my message.

Fellow Republicans, this is no time to give up.  This is also no time to resort to childish pettiness, bemoaning and name calling that the left resorts to when they lose.  This is a time to step up!  We do have a lot of ground to make up nationally, and while our state still leans red, it certainly is becoming a closely and evenly divided state.

We need to re-energize our base and return to what made our party great!  I encourage our state and national Republicans to return to the principles and virtues of the Contract with America.  We need to raise the level of discourse on the issues that matter most to Americans at this time; the economy and energy independence.  And while I believe social values cannot be ignored (though we must never give up on the issue of Abortion), we must understand, as a Party, that in these tough economic times, voters are thinking mostly with their wallets.  We must return to a message of fiscal restraint.  We must hammer the message of an “all of the above’ approach to energy independence.  We must hold our new President’s feet to the fire when it comes to the issues of coal and nuclear power.  Nothing can be off the table if we want to break free from the shackles of foreign oil.  President-Elect Obama seeks energy independence, but he must seek all avenues, closing off nothing.

We lost the American’s public’s faith in us when we lost our way as a party.  We have only ourselves to blame for the situation we are in.  Now is the time to make up for our past mistakes.  Now is the time to take action and to be the party of solutions and ideas.  We gave that away, but it’s time to take it back!

(But should you need it, here is Red State’s Obama Administration Survial Guide)

This question arose today on FriendFeed, and the comments are piling on.  On the one hand appears to be Democrats suggesting him to make one last appeal that Obama is a moderate and would reach out to a Republican for his cabinet.  On the other hand, I have asked why our senior Senator is so quiet these days, with almost nothing to say for John McCain.

Here’s the friendfeed conversation so far, love for some of you to jump in there or here:

Rick Powell posted a message

“Richard Lugar. Obama’s Secretary of State. Discuss.”

Who? - Roberto Bonini

Roberto: The Secretary of State is the cabinet level position that gives the Pres… Oh… you meant Dick Lugar. - tehEvil that is Kenny

Yeah. Never heard of him. - Roberto Bonini

haha. Obama’s favorite Republican. Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R… He’s the Republican leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A press release where he basically, tactfully endorses Obama’s active diplomacy approach to foreign policy: http://lugar.senate.gov/press/… - Rick Powell

I predict a cabinet position and I would like to get credit for it if it happens. They are pals. When asked if he would ever run for Prez again, Lugar said - and this was a few years ago - “I will leave that to Barack.” - Rick Powell

Ah. Thanks for that info. Will read over it. - Roberto Bonini

(Read more after the leap) (more…)

Broad Ripple High School graduate and one the of the Senates primary benefactors of pork legislation, Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens, has been convicted of seven counts of corruptions charges.

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted of seven corruption charges Monday in a trial that threatened to end the 40-year career of Alaska’s political patriarch in disgrace. The verdict, coming barely a week before Election Day, increased Stevens’ difficulty in winning what already was a difficult race against Democratic challenger Mark Begich. Democrats hope to seize the once reliably Republican seat as part of their bid for a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

Stevens, 84, was convicted of all the felony charges he faced of lying about free home renovations and other gifts from a wealthy oil contractor. Jurors began deliberating last week.

For Republicans, this couldn’t come at a worse time as they are holding on by a slim thread, as the above paragrahs mentioned, of preventing a filibuster proof Democrat controlled Senate. At the same time, Stevens has been one of major opponents to earmark reform in the Senate even after his pet project, affectionately nicknamed the “Bridge to Nowhere”, became the symbol of horrendous congressional pork barrel spending.

Honestly, I’m not sorry to see him go even if it means a Democrat gets his seat for six years.  And I’m not alone in thinking that either.