The King's War: Why Principle Matters

The only thing that will change the Connecticut Republican Party
is to wage a full scale political assault on the traitorous ideologues in control

Did you ever wonder why The King's View publishes what it does?  Did you ever wonder why The King puts more pressure on Republicans than Democrats?  Or sound alarm bells when Republicans sell out their constituency to appear popular or to avoid media criticism?

For years, critics have dismissed this space as the ramblings of a Democrat insider disguised as a Republican.  Of course, that line of bull comes from a few members of the GOP State Party establishment who're quite comfortable with their position in the world - and who don't really care whether we win or lose. From their perspective, they only care that we put on good show so those few Republicans left in corners here and there can go back to their districts and tell everyone how we gave it "the good ole college try" and then ask for more donations so they can keep up appearances, and support an all-but-guaranteed second place finish.

If you haven't noticed, most of the people who have stolen the reigns of the Connecticut Republican Party are not Republicans in the traditional sense; I argue that this is by design and not by accident. The consistent bill of goods being sold by our CTGOP profiteers is that we need to liberalize our politics because Connecticut Republicans are somehow - more moderate, more sophisticated, or more intellectually gifted than those in the remaining 49 other states. Of course, this pure nonsense, but that doesn't stop them from saying it. See, there is nothing magical here, nor are there mind-altering spores floating in the air (except at The Hartford Courant) which when inhaled somehow make Nutmeggers any more educated, complex, or superior then - say people in Texas, or North Carolina, or even in neighboring Massachusetts - where a U.S. Senate seat can actually be won by a Republican (if even only temporarily).  And when it comes to election results - we lose!  And why do Connecticut Republicans lose?  Is it because our people are genetically different as our leaders suggest? No! It's because we peddle a watered-down, gutless version of real Republicanism!

Now, I know this upsets many long time holders of power in the CTGOP - particularly those who won't even bother to get off their infinite asses to volunteer their precious time to help candidates go door to door, fold campaign lit, or even make voter calls, but instead will fight to maintain their personal election consulting profit margin - a stream which, incidentally, flows regardless of whether we win or lose.  And I'm sure that this also infuriates many of those, who - let's face it - wouldn't even be Republican at all if it weren't for a desire to trap a few more tax dollars from escaping their greedy pockets.

Fact is, Connecticut Republicans have abandoned their principles and surrendered in the name of compromise so often - that they've forgotten what it means to even be Republican.  What's worse is that we've become so conditioned to losing, that those running or elected are ready to go in and negotiate away whatever remaining crumbs Democrats have left on the table in order to avoid a public fight (or one that lasts more than a day or so).  It's more important to be viewed as popular, or to avoid being characterized as extreme by the Press (which hates and will always hate Republicans no matter what we say or do).  Our fake Republicans want to be seen seen as kind, warm, caring, and collaborative and part of the in-crowd regardless of the negative impact passed legislation has on Connecticut's economy or it's people.  Oh well, we can't win 'em all.  I'd be happy winning some, or even one or two at this point.

Not only does the Connecticut Republican Party lack a statewide strategy, it has no consistent message. Heck, even our Chairman doesn't want to stick his neck out and challenge the opposition - unless he really has to.  Take for example this week's visit by President Obama.  It's true, Jerry Labriola, Jr. did send out a press release - but the harsh reality of it is that - much like our Chairman himself - the message he conveyed was rather meaningless. President Obama came to Connecticut - not to listen to the concerns of our people, or to help address some of Connecticut's specific needs, but to pick up a few big donation checks, and use blue collar New Britain as a place to sell his minimum wage scheme. Do you think Labriola's press release even mentioned the words minimum wage or rebuffed the President by outlining how disastrous minimum wage increases are for businesses?  Hell No! Of course not!  Why? Because our leading party candidate - Billionaire Tom Foley thinks the minimum wage is wonderful - regardless of how many jobs are lost.  Foley undercut the rest of the GOP Field by declaring raising the minimum wage "an act of fairness".  So Foley is liberal on social issues, and now - on economic issues too?  And this is our Republican front runner?

So there you have it.  Not only do we have a watered-down press release, but a watered-down Chairman, and a watered-down Republican gubernatorial candidate too.  Why on Earth would anyone give a penny to an outfit that operates like this?

And we need not get too deeply into how Republican Mayor Erin Stewart made a sideshow of herself this week - cheerleading a President (who has killed our economy, and came to peddle more Government mandates on business),  tweeting shout-outs and selfies (tee-he, giggle, giggle), and ghetto language, and being curt with Dennis House - as if any of that mattered anyway.  For Godsakes, she doesn't get it - the President didn't even take a minute to shake her hand and greet her after she went out of her way to fall at his feet, and piss-off the GOP base by making a public spectacle of herself.  It will be a good day when this childish, one-term pretender is pushed out of office and relegated to a lead-encased, basement appointment where she can't do any further harm to our so-called brand.  Good grief!

Much of this is precisely why we haven't won a majority in the Legislature for nearly half a century.  Our CTGOP charlatan leaders spend all their money at the bar, and their time trying to convince the base that they are doing all of us a big favor running down the middle of the road.  But it's had the reverse effect of what's intended. Case in point, Senator John McKinney has been bouncing from RTC to RTC telling Republicans that his support of the Gun Confiscation Bill was a good deal because it could have been much worse.  The problem with this is kind of thinking is that Legislative Democrats, Gov. Dan Malloy, and Michael Lawlor (despite their theatrics of disappointment that the bill didn't go far enough) got exactly what they wanted; and are emboldened to start down the road to enact more laws eroding basic rights, and liberties.  Now, we have two problems - we have a gun law we don't want on the books, supported by a Republican who has rendered himself nearly unelectable by his own base (or the public based on the recent Q-Poll results) because of his cowardly stance.

The fact remains that the strategy "Something is better than Nothing." has never worked out.  And on the Second Amendment issue - it's killed us.

Think that's bad?  How about Dan Debicella down in CT-5?  Despite what everyone has heard about how detrimental ObamaCare has been on patients, providers, and enrollees - this clown Debicella, alleged to be a Republican candidate, has vowed to keep it in place, and went out his way in a televised interview to condemn anyone who criticized it.  A Republican who vows to support ObamaCare? Debicella must have been one of those morons working on Linda McMahon's campaign who spent his evenings putting pro-Obama door hangers on city dwellings. Debicella: pro-ObamaCare, pro-gay, and anti-gun.  Why in God's name is this guy even running on our ticket?

The sad thing is that despite this, Connecticut's Conservative Republicans almost always inevitably campaign for, and vote for liberal or moderate Republicans.  In contrast, liberal Republicans won't lift a finger to support Conservative Republicans who win primaries in their districts.  Case in point, Conservative activist Joe Visconti helped Christopher Shays in his Senate run despite stark differences between the two on gay rights, abortion, and gun laws. Very few moderate or liberal Republicans can make the same claim - always leaving traditional Republicans to "go it alone."  How many so-called moderate Republicans came down to the LOB to voice outrage over the Transgender Bathroom Bill?  Not many. Not one.  

Some people will claim that it's important to be the Party which is comprised of lots of different ideas, and perspectives. But what happens when you have so many ideas and perspectives running in complete contradiction with each other - so much so - that the public cannot make heads or tails about what you stand for?  The answer is simple - and the evidence is clear - the public shuns the overall brand for something that appears more consistent, easily understood, or perhaps even more organized, and sometimes that comes in the form of a third party - which is becoming an ever-present danger for the CTGOP given so many close races.

And what of Tom Foley?  Is he going to take the Linda McMahon route, mumble incoherent babble,  bob and weave, and keep his views close to his vest and leave it all as one great big surprise for us to uncover on his first day of work?  Or is he, or for that matter - Mark Boughton, Mark Lauretti, and John McKinney going to stand tall on principle and take the lead of the only genuine Republican in the race - Joe Visconti - and stop apologizing for the RNC platform and tell voters why voting Republican is the BEST option for Connecticut?

Take a look around you.  Ask yourself how many U.S. House and U.S. Senate seats Connecticut Republicans own.  Then ask yourself how we stack up in the Legislative Office Building, or in the Governor's Mansion.  Happy?  They say insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.  McMahon, Foley, Debicella, Labriola, Roraback?  Liberal Republicans void of principle giving the public little option but to reject Connecticut Republican for what it is - wishy-washy dribble.

The record for the Connecticut Republican Party is poor.  And it's poor because we don't stand for anything, and voters know it.  Until such time when Connecticut Republican Leaders can stop trying to find a backdoor to victory which doesn't exist, and clean up its own act - then The King's View will keep on going.  This is a war for the heart and soul of the CTGOP.  This is The King's War and it's a war worth fighting.

So go ahead, Labriola - keep abandoning the battlefield for a keyboard in a smoky bar.  Go ahead elitists - go on and push RINOs in favor of incremental tax increases, anti-business legislation, maintaining the income tax, gun confiscation. And keep promoting pro-gay and perverse candidates who erode our social values.  Keep nominating candidates who embrace ObamaCare, or want to increase the minimum wage, or seem to have no coherent position on anything at all.   Keep nominating billionaires void of experience or ideas who have plenty of money to burn and who run commercials to destroy the political careers of real Republicans who might make a real difference on behalf of Connecticut. And lastly, keep praising our opposition, welcoming them with open arms, and treating them as if their ideology is equal to our own, all while they seek to destroy everything generations of Americans have worked, and died for.  You see, we don't need too look far to realize that the bigger enemy is within.

Go ahead... for THE KING and his ARMY OF THE PRINCIPLED are waiting to repel you!

I AM

THE KING

Barack Obama and NBCs Gaying of the Winter Olympics

NBCs attempt to Gay the Olympics
is a disgrace

Most of us realize that in order to become a male Olympic skater that you probably have to have a little sugar in your tank to embark on such a flamboyant enterprise.  This doesn't stop any of us right-wing zealots in the cheap seats from cheering on our ice-fairies on as they go for Olympic gold.  But this piece isn't about sexual preference (what some deem "orientation" - depending on your politics), but rather the obsessive bombardment on the public by NBC aided by President Barack Obama to advance the disgraceful homosexual acceptance agenda.

From the beginning, NBC and other media outlets made a big stink about Russian President Vladimir Putin's position on gay rights which by all reports isn't much different from everyone's view on any continent, which is - I'm not a personal fan, but don't ask don't tell, and keep your bedroom antics to yourself.  Hell-bent on fanning the flames of phony outrage, the media aired a few videos of so-called anti-gay protests depicting violence which appeared on the surface to be not much different then behavior witnessed during any American labor union protest, or animal rights rally.  Anyone can take a few clips out of context in order to manufacture a fiction-based Godzilla-sized story.  Controversy sells, no matter how inaccurate or concocted the story may be.

Since most journalists aren't necessarily what you would call athletic types (most have deep resentment of all sports harking back to their grammar school days when they were picked last during gym team selection), it's not surprising that instead of focusing on the spirit of sports competition, that they've spent nearly all their time complaining about their Sochi living conditions, fear-mongering about an imminent terrorist attack, and painting Russian society as inherently evil because it's allegedly anti-gay. When questioned about this during a televised C-SPAN panel aired last week, a Russian official pointed out, "[American Journalists are spending a lot of time telling Russians what to think on a topic that America as a country is hardly in unison on.]"  He went on to say, "[I've seen no coverage regarding the efforts to bring the Olympic games to Sochi or stories about the competition between young people which is what the Olympics is really all about]"

President Obama, always the liberal ideologue, was quick to criticize Russia on it's lack of gay activism which by all reports has left most Russians baffled.  As a follow-up to verbal outrage, our finger-wagging President named openly gay non-Olympian Billie Jean King, and U.S. Hockey lesbian Caitlin Cahow to lead the U.S. Olympic delegation.  As gay activists, I'm sure both were more than willing to serve as living props to help Obama poke his finger in the eye of Vladimir Putin - who's clearly upstaged Obama on the world stage this past year a least a half-dozen times.  If Barack Obama really had gonads, he would have flown to Sochi to deliver the message himself.  But as a man who's already living his life as a lie, he's too cowardly to do anything that courageous.

It's bad enough that for the first time in recent history, our President doesn't have the class or patriotism to attend the Olympics in person to support our athletes.  I'm sure he has his reasons - perhaps he doesn't want to be seen as elevated President Putin by gracing Russia with his presence, or maybe he's still bitter with the International Olympic Committee for overlooking Chicago for the 2016 Summer Games, or maybe he, just like fellow racist Bryant Gumbel, doesn't see the need to support the winter games because in his view these games have the look of an Aryan Nation rally given the lack of African-Americans donning skates and skis. And I'm sure Obama's absence impresses America's best skater, Shani Davis, who also hails from Obama's most recent home city - Chicago. Whatever Obama's true reason, I'm sure it's between him, Michelle, and Reverend Wright.

President Obama and his boyfriend were quite an item in the 80s

Some have remarked that Obama's desire to push for gay rights expansion has roots in his personal past.  You can read all that here, here, and here if you're so inclined.  As much of the evidence appears compelling, its up to you to decide what makes sense. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck - then it's probably a -----.   Based on all this, it should be no surprise that this week Obama went out of his way to praise NFL Player Michael Sam for telling the world he's gay, or for placing openly gay NBA player Jason Collins in the President's Box at the last month's State of the Union.  Interesting how the timing of Sam's announcement, Collins' reward, and the start of the Winter Olympics seem to all coincide together - or perhaps maybe it's not such a surprise after all but rather a well-orchestrated political scheme.  Anyone else see the trend?

Self-Righteous Bob Costas is making his bid for the Meet the Press job
He needs to settle down before the blood vessel in the other eye pops!

Maybe I didn't notice it before, and maybe it's always been this way but as of late Bob Costas seems to be over-politicizing every aspect of sports to the point where he's becoming excessively annoying.  Several weeks back, he went on a tirade about the Washington Redskins and claimed the team's name was racist - a far cry from the truth; had Costas done his homework he would have learned that the team was named to honor the bravery of Native Americans, not disparage them, and that there's widespread support for retaining the team's name amongst Native Americans.  For the rest of us, we saw that Costas was showing his true colors - another whiny liberal -  out to change the world for the betterment of liberal extremists world-wide.  As a result, Costas has become a laughing stock of the sports world.

But his lunacy didn't stop there.  On February 6th during the first NBC Olympics PrimeTime show, Costas stuck again - instead of providing insightful commentary on forthcoming Olympic competition - he turned the first twenty minutes of the show into a drab version of Meet the Press. Along with editor David Remnick of the far left-wing elitist magazine The New Yorker, and Russian Journalist Vladimir Pozner, Costas once again went on a maddening tirade about his personal views about Russia and Putin's so-called anti-homosexuality laws.  This immediately caused the global Facebook and Twitterfeed to blow up in a fury of parental anger over how misplaced this discussion was given that children all over America were watching to see America's finest athletes perform their best, but not to be poisoned by Bob Costa's crazy political rant.  It's always been a unwritten rule that Olympics and Politics shouldn't mix. Costas and NBC broke the public trust - ticking off millions of viewers world-wide.

One tweeter boldly asked, "Is this Bob Costas' coming out party?"  Good question.  If he ends up in Obama's Presidential Box during next year's SOTU, then I guess you'll have your answer.

Johnny Weir 

Lastly, to make matters worse, NBC hired flamboyant homosexual activist and former Olympic skater Johnny Weir to make lewd jokes and provide live commentary on figure skating.  It's just another attempt by NBC to force viewers to endure overt gay behavior. Queer Weir makes the show unwatchable; moreover, he robs both the audience of the programming they desire, and the dedicated athletes from the attention they deserve. Cross-dressing Weir with his half-witted sidekick, Tara Lapinski, delve into bizarre on-air discussions of Barnum and Bailey proportion.  NBC should be embarrassed by the risqué commentary out Weir's mouth, hardly suitable for family programming. And since there's plenty of time left before the Olympic finale, there will be plenty of time for him to push the envelope of controversy which NBC executives will be only too pleased to defend.

Liberals and gay activists will argue that if you don't like it, don't watch it.  What these militants don't care to realize is that NBC has been given exclusive rights to air the games state-side, and it's not like us fans and donors have an alternative source for Olympic coverage.  That being the case, it's clear that NBC has done an extreme disservice to the American public by incorporating a social engineering agenda into their Winter Olympic Coverage.  Most of us know the difference between manufactured political activism and genuine sports coverage.

There was a time when exciting sporting competition was enough to carry The Games; probably back when ABC delivered a much better product via ABCs Wide World of Sports.  Unfortunately, the counterculturists at NBC see sporting competition as mere footnote to keeping their elite friends entertained, and their political allies happy.  Only at NBC, do they believe that a man dressed in drag speaking with a phony lisp is suitable viewing for American families.

If Congress is going waste it's time and our dollars focusing on the name of the Washington Redskins than perhaps it should look into NBC's use of the Winter Olympics to advance gay agenda.

The King's simple advice for those liberals blowing their stacks over this piece: Hate the sin, love the sinner, but for God-sakes - keep the sin to yourself.

I AM,

THE KING

Barack Obama and The Coming Race War

This essay is going to be hard for some to swallow. And some people may even become upset with me, and my choice of words here. But there are some things that must be said, plain and simple.

There is no use denying it.

The Obama administration is clearly hell-bent on expanding government over our lives, business, and culture to an extent never before seen. In their minds, they feel justified in doing this based on a false premise that last year Barack Obama won convincingly over John McCain, and that Americans understood that this didn't mean reinventing government but rather remaking America. Further, they have falsely created the notion that Obama's victory was one based on political ideology and therefore he has carte blanche to do as he pleases even if it means uprooting our belief system. Obama and his followers have come to this archaic belief that somehow that Americans have embraced his brand of socialism and asked him to replace our capitalist model with a new form of totalitarian rule.

The reality couldn't be farther from the truth.

The fact is that John McCain ran a poor campaign. He said little in his own defense or in the defense of current policies. He and his ragtag campaign staff laid down as the Obama army walked (if not waltzed) over him all the way to victory. Obama promised Hope, Change, and a list of other generalized upbeat approaches to government. He didn't say what those changes were - he never said he was going to spend like a madman, or dismantle the healthcare system. No, he didn't say that because had he said it, he would have lost - even to a man as somber and uncreative as John McCain.

Over the past few months under Obama-rule, the people are waking up; we've began to see a stir of emotion but not from Conservatives like myself, who are usually up in arms about taxation and spending, and our normal key hot button issues. But for the first time in a long time, I'm beginning to see an outrage from people that for years and years have been nothing more than the walking dead; zombiing their way through the newspaper, eyes a-glaze, or nodding at the daily televised newscast. People, who normally hate politics or steer away from political discussions are the ones that are doing the talking it up at cocktail parties, and in the workplace. And hell, they are even getting on buses traveling to D.C. to be heard! In a lot of ways, its surreal.

And they are going to "tea parties", and town hall meetings, and making calls to people out of recognition of what Obama represents and what he's trying to do. I see old people, and young people, and working class blue collar people involved, all fighting back against the Obama tide. And I'm scratching my head since these constituencies only months ago, were doing all the flag waving and crying for Obama to be our Savior.

So there is a real backlash out there. People are frustrated and confused - not by what Obama claims is the peddling of false rumors about his healthcare plan, but by the facts about his plan as they exist. And they are outraged by the never ending Obama propaganda machine that is selling bits and pieces of a plan that are hardly intelligible. Of course the snitch on your neighbor plan didn't appeal to people either. People also fear this rush to pass this something, a something without details describing what they are proposing, how they are going to pay for it, or how it would be administered.

OK, so far?

So as the protests grow, we see a lot of -- and this where I'm turning up the heat -- white folk out on the Mall holding signs. I see a lot of white folk making calls, and showing up at Town Halls expressing outrage, but what I don't see, except for the rare exception, are black folks stepping up to confront the dangers of an overzealous government. And that my friends is a very unfortunate matter. That is an area of concern that few people are willing to shine a light upon.

Generally speaking policy making rarely becomes race related. There are exceptions where black folks get upset - most notably when it comes to police arrests and judicial sentencing, because there is a claim that due to imagined racial profiling that black people are more likely to get arrested, or land in jail. Of course, rarely is this a reasonable argument unless one only draws attention to the number of minorities in jail which is solely the result of them committing crimes and being caught by police. These statistics are quickly overlooked by black activists.

But when it comes to this President, it clearly seems that the Obama team has deemed that race has become the overall reason for outspoken disagreement against the President's plan. In perfectly time collusion, over the last several weeks, the media has spent a lot of time playing the race card. Over this last weekend, on cue, The New York Times ran an irresponsible column by left-wing apologist Maureen Down alluding to racism for the reason of Joe Wilson's outburst on the House floor. Can someone legitimately make such a case? Simply try to destroy a man for his disagreeing with the President? Of course not, but that doesn't stop Democrats and their media friends from using this sure fire, stop gap measure to stop the advance of the President's critics.

Democrats do this because they know that making this claim automatically stops sensible debate and shines a different light on the antagonists at hand. It's akin to using a paralysis drug on the central nervous system. People sweat, tear up, and freeze. They begin to second guess what they've been saying and go into a defensive mode that makes them forget what they were saying and spew idiotic things like, "I'm not a racist, I like black people, some of my best friends are black." And thus it snowballs out of control. And before you know it, your fifty miles away from the real issue at hand.

This lowbrow approach is dangerous for Democrats and the left because calling someone a racist is just another tactic. It's an antibiotic that the general public has gotten used to. In similar cases, the left often claims that Obama is compared to Adolf Hitler (which I've actually never heard used in an argument by the way by conservative, although I distinctly remember seeing a lot of left wing propaganda depicting Bush as Hilter, etc), and so the endless argument that Obama is no Hitler merely serves as a distraction from the real issues at hand. Yet eyes are glazing over. And only Hitler's ghost and reputation seem to benefit from the dumbing down of Hitler's atrocities.

So then we have Obama's interference in the police arrest of his friend Professor Gates, and then we have an appointment and dismissal of black militant Van Jones. And we see that reaction in the black community is hardly in keeping with what might have been expected by whites if a neo-nazi were appointed by a white president. The irony is amazing.

Moreover, polls show that black folks favor the President's approach (Gallop poll: 93% last week) and give him a high approval rating when people from other races find themselves split (with a slightly higher margin opposed to his policies).

The Obama administration isn't the only one playing the race card. California Representative Diane Watson went out of her way last month to play the race card saying, "So remember they [meaning opponents] are spreading fear and trying to see that the first president who looks like me, fails; don’t misunderstand what is at the bottom line [suggesting racism]". I see. Or perhaps we all see, all too well.

From the looks of things, if black folks remain in lock step with whatever Obama proposes, then it will be hard not to imagine charges of racism coming from both camps creeping into the oncoming debate. And with the media fanning the flames as they did with the Gates story, it hardly unimaginable that thing could degrade to a very uncomfortable level, and even to the point where violence is possible.

What's next? Will polices for Government run healthcare be seen as "pro-black" and the private sector option seen as "pro-white" or "anti-black"? Will the Congressional Black Caucus continue to push in lockstep as a unified group for Government run healthcare despite that all Americans are against this notion? Will Jesse Jackson show up on the scene to make a connection to between "his poor children on the streets" and the greed of Ronald Reagan's white society?

Will the debate get uglier? Will Obama's failure been summed up as merely whites not allowing a black man to succeed? Will phony arguments about race take center stage over clear economic rationale?

I hate to say it, but stage one of the race war has begun. And the win-at-all-cost White House won't hesitate to go in any direction that gets them a win. I see the atmosphere of the OJ Simpson era reemerging.

I hope the President and his attack dogs know what pain they are unleashing on America.

The average persons guide to Obama-Care and the ongoing debate

If you came away more confused after last evening's Barack Obama HealthCare sales pitch, well - you are not alone. Barack Obama spent most of America's valuable time attacking Republicans and talk show hosts over what he deemed the "spreading of misinformation". This in itself is a propaganda tactic that even Joseph Goebbels would be proud of - since most of the anarchy and confusion about Obama's plan seems to be a result of his constant change in position as he floats new trial balloons every day. The real facts about Obama-Care, or socialized medicine are readily available since the failed models that currently exist in Canada and Europe are readily available for analysis.
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Let's go through some basic Q&A:
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Q: Obama says, we won't lose our doctor if we go with his new plan. What about this?
A: We don't know if that's true whatsoever. But what we do know is that doctors participate in plans based on providers offered through your company's benefit plans, and if Obama's plan passes, many companies will no longer offer the planned health insurance benefits for which your doctor is aligned with.
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Q: Why would companies no longer offer health insurance benefits to employees if Obama's plan passes?
A: It's going to be considerably cheaper for companies to pay an 8% tax or penalty to the Government run bureaucracy instead of offering you the costly benefit of health insurance. It gets the monkey off your company's back and the taxpayer is stuck with the bill. Think of how happy your company would be if didn't have to get involved in benefit administration, enrollment, etc. Nevermind, the cost savings.
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Q: Obama says that only premium plans will be affected and there won't be any loss of benefits, is this true?
A: Obama is being disingenuous about this because he's using a very basic health insurance plan that have few options as a benchmark. Most Americans have good health insurance plans through their employers - dental, pharmacy, basic medical, and preventive care. Calling a plan a premium plan is puzzling rhetoric. I will bet anyone that the Government run plan won't be as generous as the private sector choice that you get through your company. Today, people actually choose to work for companies sometimes based on the Health Insurance options. This competition makes companies more competitive or attractive to candidates. That would disappear overnight if Obama's plan passes.
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Q: What about Obama's claim about 78 million uninsured?
A: First of all, the numbers Obama uses change weekly. The numbers are all over the place and are being used to insight fear and trepidation. There are a lot of reasons why some people are uninsured. Many are students (but covered by parents), many are unemployed or between jobs, and many are simply not interested in paying for health insurance - these are mainly recent high school and college kids, that Obama's people are figuring in as "uninsured". Hell, I didn't want health insurance when I started my first job either. I wanted the cash. So the numbers game is a shell game at best. Let's not forget the illegal immigrants that are thrown in to create this figure.
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Q: What about emergencies? If these people don't have health care are they turned away?
A: The United States mandates that no one can be turned away by a hospital for critical care. The taxpayers fit the bill for the uninsured, and that isn't likely to change. Of course, there is tremendous abuse in the system. Walk into any ER and you can see it first hand. I did when I worked at a hospital, and when I worked as an EMT.
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Q: Why is Obama hell-bent on socialized medicine?
A: The answer goes much deeper into political philosophy understanding how Obama thinks.
Barack Obama is a die hard liberal who believes in the widespread expansion of Government on all levels. And he doesn't think much of capitalism. The driving force behind our economy is profit margins, competition, capitalism, etc, basic Adam Smith economics. Obama and his allies are no friends of the free market. By their own admission, their goal is to remake America, and since 1/6 of our economy is insurance related, that is a good place to start making changes to expand government. And its only the beginning.
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Q: Wouldn't health insurance be more more efficient if the government ran it?
A: No. It wouldn't. Take for example, the Postal Service. Over the course of time, the Government has so mismanaged the postal service that it is now over 60 cents to send a basic letter. Just twenty years ago, it was half that cost. The letter still travels the same route, in the same bag, in the same vehicles, using the same envelopes, which use the same zip codes. Yet over twenty years, there is less efficiency at twice the cost.
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Now think about any other Government run agency, from the Internal Revenue Service to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Happy with that service? Well most people aren't. Recently, cash for clunkers was a massive failure that cost the taxpayers millions.
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Now take it a step further. Do you think getting an appointment with your primary care physician is hard now? What would happen if EVERYONE suddenly flooded the system because they "can". People dive on free stuff (and of course its not free, but that's another topic) and the lines will be like they are in other countries that have socialized medicine. Study England and Canada's healthcare system and talk to their residents before thinking how great an idea this is. Few fly to Canada for medical operations these days, do they?
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Q: Didn't Obama say healthcare is a right?
A: Healthcare is NOT a right. Neither is food, property, transportation, beer, or anything else that is a commodity. Generally, rights are reserved for things like freedom of speech, press, assembly, etc. There is no right of material goods or services drawn up in the US Constitution. And thank God for that.
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Q: Who would decide who gets what benefits in the case of aged or terminal care.
A: That would be someone who sits atop of the Government payroll in one of the new 56 bureaucracies. That is sort of a scary thought, isn't it?
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Q: Obama says he's going to cut medicare but make up the costs through making efficiencies and cutting government waste and abuse.
A: No economist buys into this nonsense. Even people on the left turn and laugh into their sleeves. The fact is that if this were possible, it would have ordered back years ago. There is not 500 million is savings anywhere to be found anyway.
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Q: Obama's plan is so great that even Congressman will give up their healthcare plans to be part of it, right?
A: No, this is such a great plan that Congress made themselves EXEMPT from having to participate in it. That alone speaks volumes.
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Q: Where are the details of the plan?
A: Great question. The answer is that there are no specific details of the plan, nor has Congress worked out a way to cover the costs of the "plan". Yet there is a huge rush to pass "something" right away in order to show that we are "moving forward". Fooling with 1/6 of our economy like this without details is incredibly irresponsible way of doing business. Obama is interested in passing something right away because the more people learn everyday about socialized medicine, the fewer people support it.
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Q: Don't you think something should be done? Premiums are up, costs are up, healthcare costs have skyrocketed? Isn't it ridiculous?
A: Absolutely, something should be done. But we are in a frantic state right now. Obama and his cohorts are yelling all or nothing. Conservatives are mounting a defense against socialism. The time for negotiation and reason or solving issues in a bipartisan matter has probably passed. When people attack each other with such vigor, its impossible for them to be rationale. Anger stories, tear-jerking stories, screaming from a podium, and putting stakes in the ground are just not helpful. Those taking advantage of our medical and legal system are praying nothing changes at all. Some make a killing on the misery of others. But little can be done when the battleground is laid out for Capitalism v Socialism. Pockets of agreements can't be found and no one will budge an inch. Perhaps too much is at state to budge an inch.
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Q: Do you think something will pass?
A: It's hard to tell. I think the Democrats will probably get something passed but it won't address everything they want, but it will be enough for Republicans to use to campaign against. It's unlikely that the whole deal of socialized medicine would pass, the fragile economy cannot handle this kind of change quickly, and Democrats would be voted out in a landslide if they ever tried to ram through socialized medicine. The backlash would be tremendous. As it is, many of these Congresspeople will not be returning in the following term based on the anger of their constituents.
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Q: What about the sad stories about people who can't get healthcare. Stories like the one's CBS runs every night in their end segment. Don't you care about them?
A: You know there will always be poor, homeless, sick, lame, and terminal people in the world. The Utopian concept that Government can solve all issues is false one. Trying isn't always best when the majority suffer to assist a minority population. If you care about your world, do your best to be YOUR best. This administration is miles for JFK's "As not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your Country." Now its about what can the Government can do for you. This is a huge shift in thinking. Oh and by the way, the media outlets like CBS to a tremendous disservice to the debate by tugging at American's heart strings every night by pushing for Obama's healthcare plan through fear mongering and sympathy. It's simple bias. They way you can tell is that there are never stories about people who like things they way they are, and their current healthcare choices. The media only presents one side, and that is the liberal side.
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Q: How do we stop Obama and the Democrats from making a rash decision and voting something in just to vote something in?
A: Call your Congressman's office and tell them if they vote for socialized medicine that the opposition party (regardless of which one it is) will get your vote. Send letters, and attend Town Hall meetings. And tell your friends to do the same. Then have the courage to follow through if they fail you - meaning, vote them out.
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Q: Why is Obama so forceful on this healthcare matter?
A: His reputation and legacy are on the line. Since he's become President nothing has gone right: he's increased the deficit, jobs have been lost and we are near double digit unemployment, spending has increased an unprecedented rate, and his stimulus plans have failed outright. The economy, the war, just about everything is a mess. Obama needs a win. If he loses this battle, he's pretty much done. He'll be a lame duck for the rest of his term.

The Beer Summit

Last week Barack Obama made the foolish mistake of commenting on an incident in Cambridge Massachusetts involving one of his long time trouble-making allies, Professor William Gates, and Cambridge Police.
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Cambridge Police responded to a 911 call about a potential break in as reported by a passing observer. Police responded and carried out basic response protocol - trust no-one, interview everyone and determine the facts. Obviously, on its face value, the situation looks like a basic misidentification for the suspect was unfortunately, Professor Gates.
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The problem occurred when Professor Gates decided he wasn't going to cooperate with Police, and started become belligerent - in the normal style that most black activists with a chip on their shoulder do - and he refused to follow police instruction, called the Police "You're Mama" and pushed Police thus getting himself charged with disorderly conduct.
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Last week, Barack Obama made the intentional comment in front of the Press Corp that the Police acted "Stupidly". Obviously, Obama was defending a long time friend and proponent of his by speaking out against police and in favor of Professor Gates. What Mr. Obama doesn't realize is that he cannot just go running his mouth and rendering opinions on things without understanding the facts. The fact that he made judgments about the police (despite the video clearly showing Professor Gates' antics) is an example of his inability to keep his mouth shut and keep his nose clear of squabbles and minor issues found in any daily police blotter.
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Barack Obama has forgotten that he cannot just bully his way through an issue (he is learning this with health care) and just because he says something doesn't exactly mean that its true (or close to true). Obama is learning the hard way that Presidents do not get mired down in minor issues or force fights with public citizens while he conducts state business in the public eye - particularly, those that he disagrees with. You would have thought he would have learned something from his public jousting with Radio Talk Show Host Rush Limbaugh, who through collateral damage diminished both Obama's stature and public position.
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Not satisfied with leaving well enough alone, today Obama decided to hold a "Beer Summit" in the backyard of the White House. Besides being poor use of the President of the United States' time and energy, he further fanned the flames of both the race issue and managed to bump serious issues from the headlines of both print and video media. With an overall approval rating dropping below the half way point for his mishandling of the economy and confusion brewing over his healthcare scheme, Obama has managed to mire himself in race relations and police v black relations which is a no-win scenario for him at any time.
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So here we have three men appearing together toasting each other at a table. Obviously, the police union is interested in closing the loop on this to remove heighten angst from the black community in Cambridge, and Senatorial pressure from the Kennedy camp et al, and Obama wants to be seen as some "uniter" having blown the issue out of proportion nationally, and then there is Professor Gates, who needs his huge ego stroked, and managed to get a well deserved disorderly conduct charge dropped. Gates is the big winner in all of this because he can claim a big victory against the authoritarian white male and the fuzz. No doubt that he'll find himself a big hit at all the NAACP cocktail parties, and perhaps even star as a fundraiser for their on- going hyperinflated white society bashing parties.
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I'm sure that a great deal of what was said AT Sgt. James Crowley amounted to a sort of "sensitivity training" class of sorts. Listening to just how hard it is to be a black man in a white society, and how the police make trouble in the black communities (despite statistics on crime by race). A dialogue that substitutes facts for fiction; and paints a dark dreary picture of centuries of abuse by the White man. Boy, poor Sargent Gates really earned his money today.
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I'm sure Sargent Crowley tried to get a word in edge wise about police protocol, and how difficult it is to be a policeman in a faltering, crime-ridden society. But none of that really mattered to either Obama or Gates. I'm sure they listened, nodded, and waited for their turn to talk about what they came to teach Sgt. Gates.
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The problem with Barack Obama is that his ongoing adventures are costing him priceless time and capital with the American people. Largely, as polls show, they see this as a folly from start to finish. And they are beginning to size up his Presidency in just the same terms. It's just another bad week, and everyone is wondering what trouble he's going to create for himself and us next.

Tired of Connecticut State Employees' antics; Just get over yourselves

Ok, I recognize the the title of my post is going to piss off some decent, hard-working Connecticut State Workers. Not all of you are out there leaning on a shovel watching traffic, or joy-riding in state owned vehicles. In fact, some of you are necessary (stressing the word some) to keep order and keep the roads clear from ice, and do whatever it is that you do for the four productive hours that you are on the clock.

Look State Worker, I have to remind you that you should see your job as nothing short of a privilege. You know this all too well because its the reason that you opted to find a state job over one in the private sector - the cushy job, union protection, FABULOUS benefits including plush vacation, holidays, healthcare (as compared to the rest of us), and retirement are well worth the stint.

But the gravy train is over. It's your stop and you're going to have to get off.

The whole planet, especially our part of it, is as Barack Obama seems to repeat (29 or so times in one speech) in crisis. Layoffs are occurring all over Metropolis, from cell phone salesmen to high powered money lenders. Everyone is feeling the pinch. Well, now its your turn to share the burden. Did you think hiding behind that state union was going to save you from the reality that we all share? Do you clowns think you are somehow beyond accountability seeing as you are on the taxpayers' clock?

Did you think Blumenthal and the rest of the union thugs were going to bail you out? Well, guess what? It's not about you, its about all of us.

But one thing I can't stand is your persistent Baloney. Wheeling old people out of old folks homes in the dead of winter to try and kick up sympathy for your pathetic selves while using them as propaganda tool is beyond pathetic, its cruel. Trying to scare people with the fraudulent statements that everything is going to shut down unless all one zillion of you stay employed is insane. What is means is that I guess your union is going to have to deal with the slackers and get rid of the deadwood. Hell, tenure, smenure. Maybe its time that the union put productivity over tenure and make a few new decisions about who stays and who goes.

Look State Employee, you've had it made forever. Now its time to act like Americans and share the painful burden with the rest of us. You are the monkey on OUR backs now and Obama's Government is fast becoming not just part of the problem, but the source of it.

So leave the old people alone, stop whining and start cutting. Start with the lazy ones first, and can your union reps one at a time. United you stand, and we all fall.

Next time Barack Obama comes to town, you can thank him for the $900 trillion dollars that he spent on all of his friend's projects. It's Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid that are putting you and your friends out of a job.

Fallen Angel

Two weeks into his administration, it appears that the anointed one, Barack Hussein Obama, has fallen to Earth. Indignant as they are, even his loyal followers are about to realize that he’s far from the answer to their prayers that they’ve been conned into believing.

During his rather rude and meager inaugural address - where he sought to publicly embarrass President Bush, Obama bragged that he planned on setting the highest standards by ushering in “a new era of responsibility." Meanwhile, the Messiah’s picks for Cabinet exposed the upstart genius for his lack of ingenuity, and ability to execute a basic vetting process for forming a legitimate and uncompromised government.

People like Nancy Killefer and Bill Richardson were exposed as liabilities and dismissed quickly by the media, but they at least escaped the embarrassing scorching that Tom Daschle and Timothy Geithner faced. Daschle was a sure win for Obama since he was largely respected on both sides of the aisle - before it became known that he didn’t pay $128K in taxes; Daschle was forced to withdraw in a somber speech five feet from the President. It was an awkward TV moment for a would-be-all-knowing President.

Geithner is a different story. He won the nomination, but at what cost? He can be seen limping around the Capitol, clearly bleeding, compromised, and illegitimate. This economic crisis was caused by cheats, liars, and incompetents, and yet Americans are expected to believe that an individual of the same character as the villains that got us in this mess is somehow supposed to save us. Fat chance. Some of us see a hourglass floating above Geithner’s head with the sand of time running out. Even Larry Kudlow believes that this Treasury Secretary’s days are numbered.

Being weaker than weak, and trying to separate himself from the perceived inflexibility of his predecessor, Obama summoned the network anchors to the Oval Office so they could film him pouting and admitting he made a mistake. But he made four mistakes, not one. And Americans need to see competence and leadership, not a man falling on his sword admitting his mistakes – particularly those that are probably typical to the selection process. Worst of all, pandering to a ruthless media will be his undoing. Winning point with Katie Couric doesn’t mean, winning points with Americans.

So much for the ongoing Cabinet process; all we can wonder is what’s next.

Another distasteful move by Obama was his decision to go on Arab Television – Al Arabiya. Obama’s fateful words “All too often, America starts by dictating…” didn’t sit well with American viewers. The concept of blame America first is right out of the liberal manifesto penned by the Democratic National Soviet Committee. Obama doesn’t seem to see the correlation between the good and evil that has been waged over the past eight years, starting with several planes hitting the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and crashing in a field in Pennsylvania which took hundreds of innocent lives, and ruined many more. Then you can throw into the mix the thousands killed by Saddam Hussein and Taliban extremists all over the Middle East. Yet Obama excuses all of it to start an apology campaign at the expense of innocents and American strength.

The reason this is so dangerous is that Strength through Weakness is the liberal’s relativistic world view. This falls along the same crazy thinking that inspired Obama to tell viewers that he would sit down with Iran’s sinister President Ahmadinejad, and work out a deal and compromise. Obama comes from a world of Utopia dreamers, and not the land of realists that we’ve been blessed to keep us safe this past eight years. Obama plans to turn us from the lion on the block to the wishy-washy Charlie Brown version of a our former selves. Frightening thought since weakness emboldens tyrants.

And whose bright idea was it to diminish the President’s stature by getting him to engage in a war with Radio Talk Show personality Rush Limbaugh? Talk about bizarre and unfitting behavior. That’s the ideologue in Obama – thinking his victory was more than it is, he launched his own war of words against conservative talk radio. And it seemed that by any objective evaluation – Rush won that one (with half his brain tied behind his back). Fact is, Obama helped the GOP find a focal point that’s long been absent from dialogue.

Last but not least, is the creation and politicking for the support of a massive $900 trillion dollar spending package, code-named – stimulus, that is made up of ideological treats and treasures, National Review has a lowdown of some of the more obvious problems with the bill here.

The American response to a bill that has such an emphasis on “nice to haves” and pork spending at a time of crisis has been astounding. Republicans have been unified but fairly weak, and Democrats like Senator Ben Nelson (NE) have had to step in and insist that the irresponsible spending schemes be removed, if passage is to be assured. Obama’s rhetoric has been very disappointing, calling on Congress to pass the pork package or else doom is certain. Americans were really expecting him to take a stand for common sense particularly during a week where he rightfully called for corporate greed-demons to stop collecting millions in bonuses on the backs of bailout packages funded by taxpayers.

Yet, mighty Barack instead of taking the same tact with his own party went on television to try to sell winterization as a job stimulus program. Tisk, tisk. The new President is either a buffoon or a liar. So what will it be?

What a glorious two weeks for the anointed one. I’m sure he’ll get his spending package approved by reigning in the politicos. And when that fails, then what? The blaming of Bush will only have so much mileage since the passage of this do-noting package was crafted, pushed, sold and voted on by Obama and his Democratic ideologues.

It’s going to be a long four years, but we only need to get to two to effectively turn the tide.

Return of the King/Barack's Bad Choices

Everyone is entitled to a little time off now and then.

The truth is that the last several months - particularly since the Convention, its been a tough pill to swallow to recognize that the GOP's candidate was doomed. An old, tired, moderate Republican who was willing to split the difference too many ways. An old war hero who ran his campaign into the ground, or worse his campaign helped run him into the ground. It's hard to tell which was which, but alas it didn't matter.

And to make things worse, the geniuses in the McCain campaign decided to keep us entertained by finding mediocre vice presidential candidate who instead of helping the ticket, served as an easy target for comics and Saturday Night Live audiences. The hockey mom that either on bad advice or no advice got slaughtered by Katie Couric and others. It was embarrassing. Let's make our own history, put a woman against a black guy and see if we can gain ground. The campaign stunk so bad that they made her substitive experience questionable while Obama's lack of experience doing much as out of bounds.

In the wings, stood Barack Obama who is barely qualified to manage a corporate retail office nevermind serve as CEO of the Free World. While folks like me barely could muster a cheer for McCain, we had silently hoped that an inexperienced, black upstart with an arab name and no resume would fall on his own. But the winds of change blew a storm that knocked the GOP on its arse.

Obama's cry of change and the emptiness of his plans beat out the old and tired. Conservatism was never in play. The names that McCain called out - Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan must have been turning in their graves at the thought of being involked by the likes of Big Mac and his empty rhetoric. The debates were embarrassing for the GOP. Everyone I know cringed; they tried to find a beacon of hope in pure confusion and darkness.

So election night came and went. I didn't want to write long diatribes about what was and what could have been. Mac lost me at the convention, and he probably lost America then too.

So I decided to take a few weeks and recharge.

So now the war for America is lost. And as of this writing it looks like the left wing will take the Senate with a filibuster proof majority (now that Alaska and Minnesota appear lost). So now we have a full blown war for the heart and sole of the GOP.

So what is it going to be? Are we going to be the liberal media's dream child? With John McCain as our leader wobbling too and fro and selling us out on the issues that mean the most? Or are we going to go back to what made us successful? Conservative principles - both economic and social. Will the party have the courage to make Newt Gingrich the next GOP Chairman? Or are we going to find some middle of the road collaborator who'll settle for second best, or worse choose a minority to impress high-minded liberals at the NYT?

Well the first shots have been fired.

Obama has already started down the road of making terrible choices. His new cheif of staff, Rahm Emmanuel is a well known liberal who has long time relationships with the Clintons and the rest of retreads from Bill Clinton's eight years of embarrassment.

But the worst choice possible for Barack has to be the shortsighted decision to put Hillary Clinton in the role of Secretary of State. Hillary and Billary will be calling the shots and Obama will lose and sense of control for the rest of his tenure. Is he just out of his mind? The Clintons and their allies back in power? Hillary serves Hillary's best interest. Obama can expect no loyalty and no support whatsoever.

If this turns out to be true. The choice of Hillary Clinton will be Obama's first undoing.

What a shame.

The big question

Choosing Obama: Rationale and Analysis

The most complicated thought process is understanding why someone would support Barack Obama. I think that generally speaking when you lay everything out, he's an incredibly hard sell. But there are those - those looking beyond merit and experience, who are squarely in the Obama camp.

Let's analyze their arguments to see what we come up with.

Rationale: I'm voting for Barack Obama because we've had eight years of George Bush and Republicans and we can do better.

Analysis: George Bush can take both credit and blame for a lot of things. This writer has found many faults with Bush as a leader, communicator and President. But President Bush's biggest downfall is his inability to articulate positions and ideals in a manner understood by his general audience. This gap hurt him and Republicans tremendously because principles and ideals could not be advanced by the man at the top. If you can't communicate economic policy or defense policy in other than non-complex terms, or draw analogies (or paint the picture) then its hard for folks to buy into your way of thinking. In fact, the Bush Administration has been mostly about the various military conflicts abroad, and less about domestic policy - which required far more attention than it received.

Few people, even on the Republican side, are sad to see George Bush leave office.

Republicans dug their own hole with the public by proving that they are no better than Democrats at dipping into the til to spend money on pet projects. Newt Gingrich spoke most plainly to this by saying that Republicans began to act like Democrats, except that the pork spending went into Republican districts. Republicans were promoted to control of Congress after putting together the Contract with America and committing to hold the line on frivolous spending. Republicans were seen to be no better than Democrats, and as memories are short - Republicans got the boot. And they deserved to get the boot. The problem with this argument though, is that Democrats have controlled Congress over the last two cycles and have been less productive then just about any Congress in the history of the the United States.

Democrats cannot claim to be part of the solution since their Congressional record is beyond dismal. Even with a poor communicator like George Bush in office, Democrats couldn't muster a counter-argument to any policy. Senate Leader Henry Reid (D) came across bitter and angry; and made himself irrelevant. And Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) seemed at best distracted and disengaged. Surely, no Congress has ever done so little with so much ammunition. And Democrat activists are coming unglued about the lost opportunty to have possibly advanced their agenda. And with both Presidential nominees coming from the U.S. Senate, we must admit that they are both part of the problem, and both fall within the 7% approval rating that Congress so justly deserves. That rating is far below the President's approval rating even at its lowest peak.

The other part of this faulty argument is that John McCain is not George Bush. In fact, the leadership styles are very different. Are the political stance different? Not quite sure on that one. We know that McCain has differed with his party on more than one occasion, but just because some agrees on where we need to get to, doesn't mean that they would follow the same path. In this respect, tying McCain to Bush is dishonest by any intellectual standard. While its true the platforms for Democrats and Republicans are different, approaches, plans and ideas should be evaluated on an individual basis, not a party line evaluation - particularly when it comes to John McCain.

Rationale: Obama is new and exciting. He's not an insider.

Analysis: It's true that Obama wasn't an insider at the start of his U.S. Senate career some 147 days ago before he was a Community Organizer. But one would have to say that he's probably just as much an insider as anyone is in the political establishment. The process to become a U.S. Senator, regardless of party, is rooted in favors, money, donations, pacs, special interest groups and a litany of other things that candidates seem to be always rallying against.

It's true he's new. But he's too new to know how things work. We do not elect dictators that come in on day one and start calling the shots. And moreover there are plenty of entrenched politicians in Congress, Lobbyists, and civilians lifers in every department that tend to be the ones that make the engine chug. Barack Obama has barely been in the Senate, he's barely proposed any solutions, and he's not managed to get a single piece of legislation approved by his peers. How do people expect him to come in and advance change on a global scale, when he cannot advance change in his own Chamber?

Rationale: Barack means change.

Analysis: Change to what? Change what? Barack Obama hasn't laid out any detail plans that reflect change we can believe in, let alone change we can't believe in. He's made the same general statements that most politicians wish to adhere to: better lives for middle class, getting along with our neighbors, ending the war on terror, better health care for everyone, on and on and on. In this respect, he's no different. But in one respect, given that the election is only two months away, he hasn't given out a hint of how all these wonderful goals can be achieved.

The only change we see is the one that he has gone out of his way to point out - that's he of a different ethnic background, and comes from a non-traditional background. But that alone isn't reason enough to select Obama.

Rationale: I hate Republicans. I'm voting for Obama.

Analysis: This by far is the most legitimate reason to vote for Barack Obama. The reason is that because behind this rationale, there is not need for discussion on merit, experience, resume, or detailed plans; its pure emotion and pure politics. There is no way to change the mind of someone that thinks like this (and there are those on the conservative side that will vote for McCain by the same argument).

Depending on where you come down on certain issues - we call such voters "one issue voters" that either McCain or Obama will be your candidate no matter what. For example, a die hard pro-abortion person will choose Obama, and a Christian conservative pro-life voter will choose McCain. But these issues are few and far between and make up a minority of the population. Their votes are already cast. It's the people in the middle - the independents, the loosely affiliated - those that may be members of a party but don't adhere to much of the platform, and those that are members of a party but may be so by chance or because they chose a party 20 some odd years ago.

If people really want new and untested. If they want to break the mold - they thing that seems to really excite the media because they enjoy a fairytale ending, then Obama will win in November. If Americans take the election seriously, and want the Nation governed by an experienced (work and real life) person, then McCain will get the nod.

My guess is that the college crowd (those who are still living in a bubble), the unions, the liberals, and minorities will show en masse for Obama. And the conservatives, the small business owners, the Christians, and the guy who watches his wallet will probably hold his nose and vote for McCain (against the unknown underachiever).

As for Palin and Biden. They add little; they are merely distractions from the main event.

Obama time

Democratic operatives have been fast to create something out of nothing after Barack Obama's less than perfect nomination speech. A careful review of the speech finds that Barack has the usual list of Democrat complaints about George Bush, big plans for big spending to give out free stuff, and no details about how the complaints he raises can be addressed.

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Barack Hussein Obama has received more than a free ride over the past several months. In part, the media aided Obama by giving him favored treatment over Hillary Clinton - as a neutral observer with no horse in the race - that is pretty much a fact. In some ways it was enjoyable to watch the Clinton's get a dose of their own medicine after eight years of the same treatment that Republicans received while Bill was turning the White House into a fundraising center.

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The Obama factor is an interesting one. The free week long commercial always puts the candidate (particularly the Democrat one) in a positive light. The media laid off of Barack for the week, and didn't question the lack of specifics on energy, defense, or economic positions that he mentioned. There was a lot about Barack being different. The media loves the fact that Barack is black, has a non-traditional name and is the underdog of underdog's in a white man's world. They can't help but root for him and want to push him over the top to shake up what is considered the "status quo".

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Hillary Clinton was quoted during the primaries as saying that "[Barack] he can't win." She is right. When push comes to shove its hard to imagine Barack Hussein Obama, just a few years after 9-11, becoming President of the United States.

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Honestly, we really don't know much about Barack Obama which is because there isn't much to tell. His leadership and business experience is literally non-existent. All he can boast is that he was a "Community Organizer" in Chicago. No practical executive experience is a scary concept when you are applying to be CEO of the largest, most important agency in the free world.

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Something different isn't a substitute for qualification nor competence. And when we start seeing debates and tough questions about what Obama will do or won't do in different situations will be all telling. So the free ride is just about over (although I expect that some media circles will cheer lead for Obama all the way through the November election), and sooner rather than later conversation will turn to substance and qualification.

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The Obama camp know they are defeated. Whatever Obama says will not be based on experience but rather coached talking points by hired Democrat operatives. Everything you hear from Obama will be 'manufactured' and packaged - which is why experience does matter in the end.

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This week Republicans are setting up for their convention. Although it will be preempted by Hurricane Gustav (if not ruined). Watch carefully as the media's analysis turns cynical and dark in contrast to last week's nearly enthusiastic support by the media outlets.

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According to CBSNBCMSNBCABCPBS - Democrats can do no wrong, Republicans are always wrong. That's the message. It will be up to McCain and Palin to show America that they aren't Bush III, and they are more than a reasonable alternative to an upstart, unqualified, inexperienced Obama.

Hillary's Unity...

It must have been agonizing. Standing there in front of throngs of supporters, wishing that she was giving an acceptance speech rather than filling the Tuesday night runner up spot.

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There is a lot to be gleaned from Hillary's less than mediocre performance last night. First, we can zero in on her relentless talk about herself - why she ran, what she's done, who she is, and how grateful the Democrats should be that she has made them what they are today - well, OK - she didn't say that, but she came close.

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If I were Barack Obama I would feel pretty good this morning that I didn't choose Hillary as my running mate. I would be excited that I wouldn't have someone upstaging me at every whistle-stop tour across the 50 states. And I'd be elated that bumbling sour-puss Bill wasn't going to be lingering with his half-baked comments and allusions to what could have been with Hillary in office.

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Liberals Democrats will spend the day praising Hil' for her courage, and strength last night and a false allusion that she came out gang busters for Obama. They will spin this into something that it clearly wasn't - a heartfelt, personal, and genuine endorsement of Barack Obama. Or a personal plea for his nomination based on his positions and her respect for him. It's hard to make the case that a speech that amplifies your own positions and underscores your own accomplishments with a few tag along assertions that Barack believes what "I" believe in is anything more than sour grapes and gratuitous rhetoric.

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Last night we heard about woman's suffrage, 35 years of fighting for children, and and an endless campaign for national health care (which has pretty much fallen flatter than flat). We heard the usual mud-slinging comments that can be heard on the Senate floor by just about any Democrat against Republicans - we dislike Bush, no McCain, no-way, this administration... blah, blah, blah. What people wanted to hear is not trashing of the Republican Party but specific policy reasons to support for Hillary, er I mean Barack.

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Well, we got what we got. And of course she had to make this speech. You can imagine what the news reports would have printed this morning had she said less than what she said last night or declined to make a speech at all. What we saw last night was the start of Hillary's 2012 Presidential Bid.

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And when the smoke clears, and Barack turns out the loser - the apologies will flow. Those who failed to support her will find themselves dethroned from posts, and chased away from every nook and cranny of the Democrat Party. The Clinton machine got caught flat-footed once, they underestimated an upstart novelty that they thought wouldn't last beyond March. The Clinton's won't make the same mistake again. Clinton loyalists will be positioned in every office across the land, from major city mayors to small town dog-catchers.

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For now Barack Obama is really on his own. He'll find his treasurer chest filled by all the Bush-haters who will be out in full force - mostly those from Hollywood and abroad, who will do their damnedest to paint McCain as Bush - which no one buys at all. Most of the people shouting his name are on emotional overload with little to offer of substance and policy.

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So after two lousy nights in Chicago and a lackluster convention so far, it looks like Barack will need to hit a solo home run to find momentum. This morning he's down four points, this surely can't be what they wanted out of Hillary night.

Obama sighted at Hammonassett Beach

Just back from his world-wind tour of the Middle East and Europe, Barack Obama was sighted over West Beach at Hammonassett State Beach Park in Madison, Connecticut.

Obama was easily spotted from as far as 5 miles away descending toward the beach. He was easily identifiable as black, round head with menacing eyes and large tentacles; most notable was that he was alleged to be full of hot air.

Reports were that he was pickpocketing bystanders from on high in order to demonstrate his new found proposed method for taking new revenue from middle class wage earners in order to advance his new spending agenda based loosely on the Robin Hood legend of take from those who have and redistribute to those who don't work.

Of course, this isn't Obama - it only looks and acts like Obama. It's actually a kite that we saw from Meigs Point. Pretty cool though.


"Look out Lady, Obama is headed for your pocket!"

Obama's Propaganda Tour

This article was originally posted on Radiofreewesthartford.com

Even the neutral observer would have to agree that the last few weeks for Barack Obama have been nothing short of stellar in terms of publicity and photo-opportunities. Meeting with heads of state, dining with kings and diplomats around the globe gives the Senator would-be standing in the world community. In contrast to the Victory Tower in Berlin – which Obama used as his most recent campaign backdrop, John McCain’s visit to the Sausage Haus, a German Restaurant in Columbus, Ohio was a sad attempt to either poke fun at or upstage Obama in some way. Its days like these that make you wonder whether or not the McCain campaign takes Obama as serious as they should. While Obama spoke in front of thousands of people to a world-wide audience, McCain should hands with a half a dozen people over beer and bratwurst in a dark lit restaurant.

The troubles of the McCain bid are a story for another day. To be fair, McCain and his campaign team are their own worst enemy. Tired, uninspiring, and reactive won’t produce the intended result in the media age of energy and glitz. That isn’t to suggest that substance and policy don’t matter – it does – but delivery is also a key element of any successful leader. And right now the McCain campaign has a long way to go to inspire even its own supporters.

Lately, and in the eyes of the media, Obama can do no wrong. Both the American and International Press coverage has been incredibly friendly – if not overtly pro-Obama, as few reporters have challenged him on his policy positions. Yesterday’s Lehrer NewsHour was a perfect example of how the media is aiding the Obama campaign. The PBS show invited three European journalists who instead of providing straightforward news analysis, opted to sing praises of Obama while at the same time being very clear that McCain, while somewhat respected by Europeans, represented views not welcome in Europe. The continuous references by our national media to “Obama-Mania” sweeping the continent are enough to make you question the fairness in news coverage. Could PBS’s news coverage do any more to support Obama? Jim Lehrer, once regarded as somewhat impartial, should be ashamed at the coverage of his news team. Not one challenging remark to anything Obama says or does. And his somber delivery of the news summary isn’t a substitute for fair, impartial reporting. Oh sure, he’s not responsible for the words of his guests, but he is responsible for the questioning by the segment host, and selecting guests with alternative opinions and mindsets.

In fact to show further evidence of further bias, yesterday afternoon MSNBC decided it was time to run a short story on President Bush’s twisting of words and phrases in the same segment as Obama’s European tour. Purpose? Overtly try to diminish our current President in order to make Obama look appealing and more presidential. It’s a sad commentary on MSNBC when executives can use their programming to help the Democratic Party achieve its goals.

Most of us know what Barack Obama’s international tour is really about. It is frankly nothing more than a planned attempt to quickly improve an otherwise poor resume – which lacks in experience on the international stage and understanding of complex international policy issues. The lack of substance in Obama’s speeches reflects his inexperience. Anyone can talk about a defeating tyranny, collaboration among nations, and working together for a brighter tomorrow. But those are the words of a dreamer and not a pragmatist, particularly when they aren’t backed up by substance and plans of any sort. Surely the media must recognize that for all the hype, Obama’s words equate to nothing more than poetic cheerleading on the world stage - words that appeal to emotion rather than thought. When previous American Presidents gave speeches in Berlin, they had something to say – not so with Barack Obama who says little, and calls for an empty appeal for change.

Obama says, “Now is our time.” Who’s time, and to do what? These are empty statements. And yet the propagandists in the network newsrooms found amazing ways to shape this into a meaningful speech of some sort. No one dared question his point and its purpose. No news anchor dared go against the script.

The fact is that this whole tour is embarrassing and shameful. United States Presidential Campaigns have sunk to a new low. Would-be candidates taking their propaganda, dog and pony shows on the road in front of international historic landmarks is sickening. Shouldn’t the media be asking if the words of Mr. Obama meet the same quality and stature of what the memorials he campaigns in front of stands for?

Well, of course not. That’s not the media’s job. For the last several years, their mission has been the same, well documented and observed – to tow the line of the Democratic Party, and to cast a dark shadow on Republican viewpoints (except of course when the Republican goes against his own Party). If this is a sign of what’s to come, McCain surely has an uphill battle.

Obama gives America a black eye

Since when did it become fashionable to use foreign landmarks for the purposes of campaigning in U.S. Elections? Since when did it become acceptable to put foreign governments in a state of security risk all for the purposes of trying to appear internationally astute?

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Barack Obama's latest bomb is shameful to say the least. Disrupting Berlin and giving a useless campaign speech at the Victory Column is not only disappointing, its also unnecessary.

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What exactly does a structure built in 1864 to commemorate Prussia's victory over Denmark have to do with anything regarding this campaign or American foreign policy?

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Is Obama going to make ground breaking news about German-Danish relations? A relevant comment to today's military situation in Iraq? Does he intend to use this backdrop to criticize US foreign policy (a clear no-no in that American diplomats are never to criticize the US Government's actions abroad). Who exactly does Obama think he is?

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It's one thing to hold a laughable resume with little experience, and its another to travel to foriegn lands and pretend to be a knowledgeable diplomat.

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This whole experience seemed to have put the German government in an awkward state. Obviously he has no business making a speech within their borders (its purely photo-op) and he insisted on doing this anyway despite German misgivings about the need and nature of the speech. It's embarrassing to the point that they nearly had to relent so as not to seem biased. But the fact remains that he has no business speaking in foreign capitals or using foreign cities as a backdrop for his campaign.

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How self-centered. How ignorant. How opportunistic.

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What's next? Tower of London? The Eifel Tower? The Catherdral? The Leaning Tower of Pisa? Any place else you can get a good photo op?

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Just another black eye for America - our Presidential candidates now deem foreign landmarks and cities as exceptable territory to campaign from. Obama is pathetic, and so are his 300 or so advisers that should have told him that the whistle stop tour of his should have started in Maine and ended in San Francisco.

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Just another reason to not vote for Obama. And some of you think George Bush is embarrassing. This guy hasn't even been elected and he's already pissing off foreign heads of state.

More on Rev. Wright and his loyal parishioner Barack Obama; the disappointment grows

The more you think of it, the angrier you get.

This is not just some one-off candidate running from a fringe party from obscurity. No, instead this is the Democrats most-likely nominee who is embroiled in a racist, anti-white, anti-American scandal caused by his 20 year friend, mentor, and spiritual guide, Rev. Wright.

It's funny. When Don Imus went on WFAN last year and made a single racist remark about the NCAA woman's championship team - without hesitation, Barack Obama called for Imus' dismissal, yet when the shoe is on the other foot, we get a lecture about how we don't know Rev. Wright, and lots of comments of personal support. Last time I checked, Don Imus created a wonderful place in the Midwest for kids with Cancer to get treatment and support - that apparently counted for nothing.

Hey Barack... so do you think Imus should be reinstated? Or is this a one way street?

This isn't going away. For the past two days, I've heard a lot of anger out of the then-Obama supporting crowd. Seems that even if the media is trying to prop him back up with accolades of "bravery" and "courage". What courage? The courage to change the topic? Sorry Barack, the soccer moms aren't buying it. Nor are the folks gathering around the water cooler at work. It's hard to dismiss as a one-off.

It's hard to equate 20 years of a strong relationship with someone who harbors such anti-white, anti-American sentiment, and simply dismiss it as "not important". Actually, its very important.
Choosing a house of worship is a very particular act that requires thought, and requires a connection of sorts on a spiritual and even and intellectual level.

Make no mistake about it. Barack Obama knew exactly what was being spewed and taught from the Black Nationalist lectern. He knew that the church's motto included "being apologetically black". Doesn't seem like a place that a white person would be welcome, does it?

The bottom line is that we now know what Obama thinks. All this nonsense about unity and something new is just a line of baloney - just a clever little scheme to campaign on. Now that we know his Pastor's thoughts, maybe we'll find out that he's also a member of other organizations that profess other elements of black nationalism. What else is behind the phony veil?

And how is Grandmother doing? I bet she's thrilled to be considered a White Racist now. She must be excited about all the new looks she receiving from friends and strangers alike. Class act!

Bill Clinton was right a few weeks ago in a statement he made. He just said it at the wrong time.... "This whole thing is one big fairy tale." It most certainly is. And not all of Aesop's fables have a happy ending.

Barack spells doom for Democrats; Hillary lives on

Is it me or is Barack standing in another white man's shadow? Oh wait, no racist jokes please.

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To say that this has been a poor two weeks for Barack Hussein Obama is an understatement and a half.

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It's clear to anyone that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr is a racist, or black nationalist as the media is now referring to him. The problem for Barack is that not only has Wright overshadowed Obama's message of unity and hope, but its turned Obama's campaign into a spiraling mess.

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And its raised questions about the authenticity of what Obama claims are his core beliefs.

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Like it or not, people judge you by the company you keep. And when given the chance to throw Rev. Wright under the bus, take the high road, and save his campaign, Obama took the wrong course of action. Instead of coming out strongly against the vile and despicable anti-white, anti-American rhetoric of Rev. Wright, he embraced him as a family friend, and a friend for life. Good God! He couldn't even follow the script.

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Obama said he could no more rid himself of Rev. Wright then he could of his white Grandmother who admitted fear when black men walked by. Dumb response. What's the point?

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Oh, I get it. Duh. There's enough racism to go around everywhere, so forget it. He did a better job throwing his wife's grandmother under the bus, anyone else in your family you want to belittle to try and help elevate Rev. Wright?

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In the early 1970s, Richard Nixon gave his famous "Checker's speech", and today in Philadelphia with the statues of our Founding Heroes looking on, Obama gave his version, and failed to live up to the easy standard set by Nixon.

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What's worse is what is being seen on every television channel across the globe (and I don't mean endless clips of Rev. Wright, although I'm sure that doesn't help) - Black Nationalists running their wide mouths spewing hate and anger in defense of Rev. Wright. And by each word, they run Obama's camp further into the ground. While blacks trumpet the "unfair treatment in a white man's world" malarkey, the ground that Obama won seems to be eroding fast.

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Neutral whites, independents, and some white Democrats are beginning to question the authenticity of Obama's claims that he can reach out and unify people based on race, creed, gender or party. If Rev Wright's horrific comments aren't enough for Senator Obama to not only distance himself from Wright, but repudiate him, then Senator Obama may not have any business running for President whatsoever.

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As Hillary looks on with a gleam in her eye, she has to smell blood. The shark frenzy around her phony tear, and gender bashing seems mild to the racist rants of Rev. Wright and his loyal parishioner Barack Obama.

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Hillary is rising fast. A few more primary wins, and its off to the convention for a blood bath where she could become the nominee. It's going to become brutal. And the DNC isn't stupid either, they are seeing a mess for themselves if Barack is the nominee and the party has endure six months campaign commericals showing Rev. Wright superimposed over Barack Obama.

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For Republicans, this election cycle is a nightmare turned sweet. George Bush's last four years have been ugly. And Republicans went ahead and choose a cranky, aged, mean, old Democatic collaborator as their nominee. Yet the Democrats in their infinite wisdom have managed to give Americans the choice of a wide-eyed, unlikeable feminist, or an inexperienced Black man who took his Biblical learnings from a Black Nationalist preacher.

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Wow. Who'd of guessed it? Like it or not, John McCain is going to be the next President of the United States. The Democrats have killed themselves. The great repudiation of George Bush will never happen.

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I don't know whether to be happy or sad at any of this.