House Republicans Tell Bush: No Bailout for Detroit

(click image to enlarge.)

The fact that these few House Republicans have to remind the president, and by extension, the news media and public, that it is not the job of government to ensure the success of every business in the U.S., speaks volumes for the need of a remedial class in Constitutional Government.

Dragon Slayer

What do you call a diminutive 5’ 2” Vietnamese refugee who runs for congress as a Republican in New Orleans’ heavily black, heavily Democratic urban 2nd congressional district that has not elected a Republican candidate since 1890?

You call him Anh Cao, Dragon Slayer!

Despite the problems of scandal-ridden Democrat House incumbent William Jefferson, Jefferson was supposed to be a shoe-in for re-election. Speaking of New Orleans voters, Charles E. Cook, a Louisiana native who is the publisher of The Cook Political Report, stated, “They don’t generally turn out candidates with ethics problems.”

Attention PA GOP: Cao did not moderate his pro-life stands in order to win in a district where Republicans are heavily outnumbered by Democrats. I understand that at a recent high-level state GOP meeting, there were concerns voiced that Republicans need to “moderate” their message in order to win minorities. Note that Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District is 64% black.

When asked about his priorities, Cao said, "The only thing I am certain of is that I am anti-abortion." Hear hear!

Republican Governors Refuse to Rule Out Seeking Federal Bailouts for States

More proof of a leadership vacuum in the Republican Party….

From the story: Republican Govs. Rick Perry of Texas and Mark Sanford of South Carolina will not pledge to refuse federal bailout money, their spokesmen told CNSNews.com Friday – just three days after the two governors denounced federal bailouts in The Wall Street Journal.

“We’re crossing the Rubicon with regard to debt,” Sanford and Perry wrote in Tuesday’s Journal, a reference to Julius Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon river in 49 B.C. – meaning that a point of no return has been reached.

By Friday, however, the governors had crossed back again. When CNSNews.com asked their offices – “Will you pledge not to take a federal bailout (for your state)?”—the responses were surprising. Read more….

Bailout Debt

Let’s count the number of Republicans who are onboard in supporting this insurmountable amount of debt!

(Townhall) Bianco Research crunched the adjusted for inflation numbers for previous conflicts and federal programs to compare it to the cost of the financial bailout. If you count the Citi bailout, our total Wall Street welfare costs are more than $4.6 trillion. This is more than all the programs below combined. It will also cost more than the entire cost of World War II which, adjusted for inflation, cost Americans $3.6 trillion in today's dollars.

• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion
TOTAL: $3.92 trillion

Jeb Bush to GOP: Don't Become 'Democrat-Light'

From Newsmax.com: Bush urged Republicans not to abandon their core conservative principles in favor of a "Democratic-lite" agenda. Still, he says the GOP does need to do some real soul-searching.

“If you take the [last] two election cycles, there’s real cause for concern, no question about it,” he said

“You’ve got to do the hard work. That means grassroots organization. It means listening to the base of the party. It means voter registration. It means turn-out operations. It means recruiting candidates that look like the population we’re trying to attract to our cause. Those things seem to have waned in the last couple years.”

The party must hold fast to its convictions. “We can’t be Democrat-lite. We can’t just ‘get along.’”

Sarah Palin to stump with Sen. Saxby Chambliss

(Townhall.com) Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss is calling in a closer: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will join him for four rallies across the state on the eve of his hotly contested Dec. 2 runoff.

It will mark her return to the campaign trail after her bid as John McCain's vice presidential candidate and a chance to show off some political muscle in a state that backed her GOP ticket with 52 percent of the vote.

Chambliss is running off against Democrat Jim Martin in a race that could help determine whether Democrats have enough votes to block Republican filibusters in the U.S. Senate. The Palin announcement electrified state Republicans in the closing days of the race. Read more…

How can this be? All of the expert pundits claim that Governor Palin was a drag on the ticket, that her unabashed conservative values hurt John McCain’s chances for the presidency. With the veto-proof 60 seat Senate hanging in the balance, why not send in a moderate to electrify the electorate? Where is Arlen??? (sarcasm off)

Time To Follow Reagan’s Example

From Phyllis Schlafly: After Republicans lost in 1976, Ronald Reagan spent four years working the grass roots, speaking at dinners, answering audience questions, traveling the country by car and train (he refused to fly), making radio broadcasts and learning from average Americans. By 1980, Reagan had sharpened his conservative philosophy in sync with what Americans want from their leaders.

In the period from 1976 to 1980, grass-roots conservatives and Ronald Reagan learned from each other. That's the model conservatives should follow now and educate new leaders.

When the economy and foreign policy fell apart under the liberal presidency of Jimmy Carter, conservatives were positioned to defeat him in 1980. Candidates, consultants and activists today should move outside of Washington, D.C., and discover what the remaining 99 percent of the country wants. Read more….

GOP Congressman: 'It is not your money'

Honest view or Freudian slip? This one goes into the R.I.N.O. column.

From WND: A Republican congressman seeking a $25 billion bailout of the troubled U.S. auto industry made a stunning statement about taxpayer funds to benefit Detroit, claiming, "It is not your money."

Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Mich., made the remark during a discussion with Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto [on 11-19-08] as the pair debated sending billions of federal dollars to prop up the Big Three carmakers.

The GOP's Social Insecurity

From Tony Perkins: "To listen to some Republicans... you would think that traditional conservatives, the defenders of the unborn and the integrity of marriage... were responsible for two wars gone sour, over-spending at a level to embarrass Lyndon Johnson, the largest expansion of entitlement spending since the Great Society, numerous cases of GOP corruption, betrayal of the public trust... and the miserable results in the presidential and congressional elections..."

Like us, Tracy Mehan of the American Spectator is fed up with the Republicans' post-election finger-pointing. In his op-ed "Social Conservative as Scapegoats," he lashes out at the GOP's centrists for blaming November 4 on "the solid and most loyal" wing of the Reaganite coalition. To those of us in the pro-family movement, the Establishment's diatribe is a familiar one. When the GOP succeeds because of social conservatives, our importance is ignored. When the party fails for overlooking us, values voters are somehow to blame. Read more....

The Death of Moderates

With the Congressional Elections of 2006 and 2008, the Democrats have discovered that they can run marginally pro-life and pro-gun Democrats and take out “moderate” Republicans with increasing ease. Should this really be all that surprising?

Republican leadership has bought the lie – that conservatives must “moderate” their stances in order to win elections, and the results have been catastrophic. Not counting judicial elections in Pennsylvania, Republicans have won only one state-wide election in the last two years.

Now, instead of taking an honest assessment of Pennsylvania’s increasing hue of blue, some party insiders, including McCain’s own staff, are blaming Governor Palin for their loss. But according to a Rasmussen national telephone survey, Republicans overwhelming do not agree. In fact, 64% of Republicans, included in the Rasmussen survey, think Palin should lead the ticket in 2012. Click RasmussenReports.com for the survey.

How can party leaders be so out of sync with Republican voters? Check out the post below from almost a year ago. Four “conservative Pro-Life” State Representatives from Western Pennsylvania endorsed Mr. Giuliani for president. I think that it would be fair to state that at least a few of these representatives were hoping to take leadership positions in the PA House, based on riding Mr. Giuliani’s coattails. Would any of these four representatives even mention their endorsement now?

Would any of these four representatives proudly proclaim the “moderate” moniker now?