Campaign 2008 – President – Page 4

Two more PAC’s to follow

There’s just something about the campaign finance stuff that draws in groups of all political stripes. Being one who thinks in a conservative frame of mind, I’d prefer to see those who are for government being smaller and returning to its proper Constitutional role. So I’m pleased to help announce a couple new political action committees are gearing up for the 2008 campaign, although one of them comes from someone returning to the fray after an absence of several months.

The pro-troop organization Move America Forward has already picked a number of candidates to support with their PAC, with the MAF Freedom PAC website coming online this weekend. As the newly-minted PAC notes on its blog:

Until now, we had no political action committee, or PAC. Now we do. We will now comment on specific campaigns. We will call out candidates who are hurting our country. We will nail them in no uncertain terms, and nobody is safe. Republicans, Democrats, Independents – whatever. We are watching and the gloves are off.

(I’d like to make a suggestion to MAF Freedom PAC’s “chief blogger”, Catherine Moy. In the interest of making life easier for the rest of us – set up the site so individual posts can be linked. It’s likely not your fault, but the webmaster needs a refresher course in Blogging 101. A friendly word from one who knows a little about this stuff.)

Be that as it may, their aim is pretty simple. This is from the presser announcing the effort:

MAF Freedom PAC will draw on the expertise and experience of Move America Forward and apply them to the political field in this election. Their media savvy and good relationships with many in the conservative community are expected to enable them to play a major role in this pivotal election year.

The PAC will focus on very competitive congressional races, but will also address the presidential race, in which Vietnam veteran John McCain is touting his support for the surge strategy and Barack Obama is promoting his plan to withdraw troops from Iraq upon entering office. Targeted candidates will be announced soon, but the PAC’s website already features many races which they judge to be important and competitive.

While Move America Forward is justifiably excited about this new venture of theirs, I don’t think their PAC is going to have nearly the impact or donations that will go to Fred PAC. (h/t to Ted Pibil.) As Fred Thompson writes in introducing the new political action committee:

I formed Fred PAC to help identify and support candidates on every level who support a platform of conservative, principles-based leadership and policies. I’m working for Fred PAC with one overriding mission; to secure the future of our country and preserve the freedoms you and I and millions of our fellow citizens hold so dear.

We conservatives need to elect men and women at every level of government who will develop and promote the kind of innovative, free market and principles-based policies that led our great nation to the pinnacle of western civilization. We conservatives need to shake-off the few recent past defeats and remember that when we go directly to the American people with solid facts and honest solutions founded on the principles of the Constitution, we win.

Fred is definitely correct in that assumption, and it will be interesting to see who he throws his support behind as the election draws closer. Thompson is the third former GOP presidential candidate to enter the PAC field, with Mike Huckabee’s HuckPAC and Mitt Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC the subject of previous posts of mine.

How about that Palin?

This post is a reminder to those who are interested locally that the Wicomico County Republican Party is opening its 2008 Election headquarters at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. The headquarters is located at 800 South Salisbury Boulevard in Salisbury, across from Giant and next to FedEx/Kinko’s.

There are two additional items of interest since we put the word out earlier this week regarding the opening. First of all, the time was changed from its original noon start to 10 a.m. in order to enable State Senator Andy Harris to attend – after all, his election is our primary objective locally. So voters will have yet another chance to meet and greet our next Congressman and the local media will have the chance to give him some face time. (Bet the Daily Times skips the occasion.)

Then yesterday I received the following in my e-mail:

McCain – Palin Rally

Immediately Following

Firsthand report from the Convention
Update on Campaign
Get your new McCain-Palin Bumper Sticker
Information on getting involved
Volunteer Opportunities
Drawing for two complimentary tickets to Senator Stoltzfus’ October 4th – Picnic & Rally

Everyone invited!

Refreshments will be served

You know, I think local Republicans are so fired up about the selection of Palin that they might just show up even if Hanna was a Category 5 hurricane. (Well, all right, that is hyperbole because we do have some common sense, but this little tropical storm doesn’t appear to be stopping us. On the other hand, hurricanes don’t come near Alaska because they know Sarah Palin is there, so if we invoke her name we should be in good shape.)

However, I have one other request from the McCain/Palin campaign. Perhaps you aren’t going to pay much attention to the Eastern Shore here in Maryland but if you sent Sarah Palin to Delaware with an offer to mend fences because of the jabs she took at the First State with her speech Wednesday night, it would be a shot in the arm to all of us around here. Anywhere south of Dover would be fine.

This also gives me an opportunity to address another purported allegation about the Palins, with wild rumors going about that Todd Palin was a member of a political party which advocated secession from the United States. While this AP story by Jim Kuhnhenn clears up the mud slightly, it brought up two things I hadn’t known but am pleased to find out.

First of all, while there were members of the party who favored secession, the Alaska Independence Party was officially in favor of having the federal government turn over land it controls to the state of Alaska. While this isn’t an issue in Maryland, for many states in the western part of the country federal control of land is a huge issue because Fedzilla has so much of it. Only Nevada has more land under federal control than Alaska’s 69.1% share; by comparison only 2.8% of Maryland’s land is federally controlled. While we on Delmarva joke about seceding from Maryland, these guys had a more serious aim.

The other really cool thing about Sarah Palin is her taste in Presidential candidates – no, not Pat Buchanan. Instead it was pointed out that Governor (then-Mayor) Palin was a Steve Forbes backer in 2000, just as I was. Perhaps she can clean up the taxation system in Washington as a side job since that was a prime Forbes issue. It’s just another thing to like about the woman from Wasilla.

Too bad I don’t have the local franchise for this

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last week, the buzz around the nation is the selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as John McCain’s Vice-Presidential candidate. Overnight we learned much more about a heretofore semi-obscure governor that we knew about most of the other 49 governors combined. (If only we knew less about Martin O’Malley, particularly his love of spending other peoples’ money.)

Unfortunately, a lot of what we’ve learned about Mrs. Palin is of the tabloid variety, particularly about her 17-year-old daughter who’s unmarried and five months pregnant. Conversely, Governor Palin is a working mother, part of a two-income family who has four other children, one being a son who’s set to ship out to Iraq with his Army unit and another son who was born just months ago with Down’s Syndrome, plus two more daughters. That alone would keep most mothers’ hands full, but she’s like most moms who handle the tasks with aplomb and love.

But the pick has struck a chord among millions of women who can sympathize with the Palin story of juggling work, family, and having a husband who also works. While Palin’s not a prototypical soccer mom, it’s only because there’s not much of a soccer season up in Alaska – instead, she’s a hockey mom. (As she quipped last night, “What’s the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bill? Lipstick.”)

Yesterday, Michelle Malkin chimed in on the controversy with a piece called “Waking up the sleeping giant.” In it, she pointed out as I did above that the Palin pick seems to be a hit with women. (It’s also swept the messiah Obama off the front pages, meanwhile people are now asking “Joe who?”) And it wouldn’t surprise me to see a few women around here with this shirt (it’s gotta be flying off the shelves. Can I at least get a commission?) The reaction among those I’ve spoken with about the pick is just as enthusiastic – it may have saved John McCain’s bacon in this race.

Speaking of folks wanting commissions, I also got this e-mail from the Obama camapign (yes, I get e-mail from both sides.) In it, Obama spokesman David Plouffe assured me that:

In the next 36 hours, the McCain campaign will be pouring millions of dollars — if not tens of millions — into negative attack ads against Barack Obama.

Before John McCain accepts the Republican nomination on Thursday, his campaign has to spend every last dollar of primary funds they’ve raked in from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs.

Just yesterday, they aired a new negative ad in 14 swing states. His campaign manager even admitted that all McCain has to rely on is attacks, saying that for them, “This election is not about issues.”

He doesn’t want Americans to notice that the Republican platform is the most extreme we’ve ever seen — opposing stem cell research, denying a woman’s right to choose no matter what the circumstance, and continuing to spend $10 billion a month in Iraq.

With so much at stake, we can’t allow another election to be determined by petty and divisive political tactics.

After that, it was blah blah blah send us money. But what David Plouffe doesn’t let readers know is that the reason McCain is spending money on these commercials is because John McCain cannot use the money after he’s nominated. As of tomorrow, any checks McCain gets from contributors (which may be from “special interests and PAC’s” but are more likely from the general public) would have to be returned because John McCain has stuck by his pledge to use public financing for his election campaign – unlike Barack Obama, who’s done what he does best and thrown public financing of his campaign under the bus.

Seems to me that politics comes before promises to Barack Obama, but that tends to be true with Democrats once they reach a certain level. It’s just something else to keep in mind when you watch the debates and the thirty-second commercials sure to come – especially with the real special interest money which is paying for Barack Obama’s spots.

It’s my money!

On my recent post, Time for refutations, we’ve gotten into quite the discussion about where our tax dollars go, centering to begin with on how I paid for my schooling and extending into government spending in general.

As you can tell right from the headline, my philosophy is reflected in thinking that the money I make through my labors is best spent by myself and not by someone in the Government Office Building downtown in Salisbury, up in Annapolis, or just down U.S. 50 in Washington, D.C. Yes, I am aware that there is a need for various government services for which I do pay taxes; in fact, that bite generally gets bigger and bigger each year as evidenced by the date Tax Freedom Day is celebrated (this year Maryland residents worked until April 28th to pay their federal and state taxes, one of the latest dates in the country.) Ironically, the stimulus checks and slower economic growth pushed the date backwards for the first time since 2003 – the year the second round of Bush tax cuts took effect. My beef is with the vast scope of government that seems to grow each year by the implementation of more government programs and market interference.

Last year I wrote a number of posts on what I considered the proper role of government and suggested changes in a number of areas which most interested me, billing it as a 50 year plan. I know that it’s going to have to be a multi-generational vision and I’m hoping to live long enough to see it come to fruition. Unlike the perception of conservatism that we’re all mean-spirited and just wish to cut government with a meat cleaver, what we’re looking for is government to maintain its proper role as dictated by the Constitution.

Let’s look at what the two major-party candidates wish to do with taxes. Barack Obama wants to continue with policies that “Final Frontier” would appreciate – taxing the “elite” (read: successful people who work hard at their businesses, large and small, and create the jobs most Americans work at) and redistributing a few crumbs here and there for “working families”, teaching them to depend further on the government handing them a check each spring. It’s a short leap from depending on government for a check to having them run much more of our lives through regulation and market interference.

On the other hand, John McCain spells out a case for maintaining the tax cuts President Bush managed to pass but which expire in the next couple years. It’s not nearly as far as I’d like, but it’s a better alternative than watching Tax Freedom Day spiral up the calendar into May or even June.

As I write this, Senator Biden is spelling out what he thinks is “the change we need” under an Obama administration. Unfortunately, that change goes in the wrong direction – it’s a change which would increase the intrusion of our federal government in our lives and our wallets.

Real change would set Americans free from the shackles of dealing with the IRS every spring and allow them to keep every dollar in their paycheck by taxing consumption instead of income.

Speaking to another of Final Frontier’s subjects, real change would allow true educational choice and end the federal incursion into our children’s schools. If states wanted to pick up the baton they would be more than welcome to; in fact some states mandate their presence in education through their respective Constitutions.

Maybe real change does come from thinking about some of those items Final Frontier went into during his her comments. Yes, we do need highways for transportation and it’s a legitimate government use of tax dollars. But do we need to subsidize certain modes of transport while making others which are more convenient also more expensive with mandates regarding what type of fuel they can use or how efficiently they use it? Shouldn’t the person closest to the situation be able to balance the factors in his or her own head and come to an informed decision by him- or herself?

And about that cheese. Why is it that the government is in the cheese business? Farmers are more efficient than ever, and I would think that they’d want to actually grow crops instead of leaving land idle – unfortunately various incentives make it more financially worthwhile for the farmer to leave the land unproductive while they’re paid to do so. Obviously the agricultural market is a fickle thing, but I’m sure farmers who complained for years about how hard it was to make it with the low price of corn aren’t rushing to give back all those subsidies now that corn is near an all-time high price.

Finally, real change would be to get behind our military and our commander-in-chief and allow them to finish their task as they see fit. Call me a neocon, but I don’t think creating an ally in the Middle East and wiping out a large number of prospective people who would do us harm was such a bad thing. Not only that, we’re in the process of shifting our focus from Iraq to Afghanistan but we also have to think about the reawakening of that old Russian bear, one who we can’t trust any farther than we can throw. Nor should we discount the threat of China. (This issue was one thing that endeared me to Rep. Duncan Hunter as a Presidential candidate.) Unlike a Department of Education or a government contract to purchase and process “excess” cheese to support the market, defending our nation and its interests is a legitimate task given to the federal government by our Constitution. And we’ve been projecting power since the days of Jefferson, so spare me the isolationist garbage.

This is why I care so much about where my money goes and I reserve my right to question the decisions made by those who generally have been placed in power against my best judgment, or in many cases without my sayso at all. The scariest part of human nature is that “absolute power corrupts absolutely” and decades of relatively unchecked growth in what I like to refer to as “Fedzilla” has placed a lot of power in the hands of an elite unto their own, not “We The People.”

Crossposted on Red Maryland.

Now we know a bit more about Barack

For this afternoon, the controversial video from the American Issue Project (h/t Michelle Malkin):

When I went to Youtube to embed the video, it had well over 100,000 views already. The Obamanation tried earlier to flood television stations who were airing the spot with thousands of e-mails demanding it be taken off. (My e-mail is up top, let’s see how they do. It won’t work for me either.)

Is this a little over the top? I believe it is, but the spot is definitely effective. (I think it would be better for 30 seconds, perhaps that is too little to make the point though.) Certainly it calls the character issue into play, and Obama has known his share of seedy characters over the years (Tony Rezko, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, and probably most of the bit players in the Chicago political machine, for starters). It’s certainly put the heretofore unknown to me American Issues Project on the map – so if that was an aim of theirs they did well.

I know that a number of my readers on the left are going to call me out as a shill to the vast right-wing conspiracy, but this is a legitimate issue in the campaign that’s not being raised. (Yes, I can hear you asking again how many houses John McCain has and screaming “Keating Five!” from here. That will surely come out from the Obama side before all is said and done.) More telling is that Obama hasn’t thrown Ayers under the bus yet because it only took him a few days to shove Jeremiah Wright there. (Maybe Obama is in Baltimore, since the buses there are apparently having problems staying on time.)

Without knowing just how many markets actually showed the ad and the timing involved (whether it aired during prime time or was buried at 3 in the morning), it’s arguable that just taking the number of Youtube views and adding the number of readers Michelle Malkin gets in a day (about 1 – 1.5 million a week, you can check her Site Meter) that the ad got many times more free exposure for the American Issues Project than they have gotten in paying for them to air on television. It was their Holy Grail and definitely scored a bullseye with their target audience.

That, my friends, is the beauty of the internet and why I keep plugging away at this sort of stuff.

WCRC meeting – August 2008

After a month’s hiatus in July, the club returned to regular meetings this month. But since we didn’t have a guest speaker and much of the discussion involved where the club will devote its resources for the 2008 election, I’m going to withhold a good percentage of the information that we discussed.

What I can tell you is that the Wicomico County GOP will have a very visible headquarters and once the arrangements are finalized there will be a press release to announce the grand opening.

I can also tell you that we’ll be out in force over the next several weekends waving signs and attempting to persuade voters, not only about our two major candidates but also the state issues. In fact, our next two meetings are scheduled to feature a pro-slots speaker and an anti-slots speaker in separate meetings. We’re just working to confirm who will actually represent each faction.

Other events which will be on the docket for the upcoming weeks include our WCRC Crab Feast at Schumaker Park on Saturday, September 20 from 1-4 p.m. $25 gets you all the crabs you can eat, plus other goodies and a silent auction. I’ll have at least one Shorebirds-related item to donate. Then on October 4th there will be a rally to support both John McCain and Andy Harris, which will take the place of State Senator Lowell Stoltzfus’s “Picnic in the Park.” It’ll return to the great outdoors after a two-year hiatus inside the Wicomico County Civic Center. I’ll have more details on that as well as the event draws closer. Plus we’re back at the Autumn Wine Festival for at least the third year in a row, that’s October 18th and 19th. I’m sure I’ll be working the event and you never know who will show up, generally it’s a fun event even without the politics involved.

We did thank those who worked the Wicomico County Republican booth at the Farm and Home Show, and I’ll add my thanks to Tom, Blan, both Bobs, both Daves, George, Ryan, Woody, John, and Gail for their assistance. Wouldn’t mind seeing a few new names on the list but that will come. I also have to personally thank Bobbieanne and Charles for bringing the really good food this month…it’ll be almost an impossible task to follow that.

So you have a relatively brief rundown of what went on this month, although the results will become more apparent as time goes on in this campaign. Our next meeting is September 22 at 7 p.m. I may defer the rundown of that meeting until the next night, for personal reasons.

Not just a wall, but a weapon

As one of the recent newsletters I received from my affiliation with the American Institute of Architects has shown, we in the field have our deep, dark satrical fantasies too. The one in question here is a new idea for a border fence that puts the hawks to shame.

Oddly enough, the man who came up with it is, to put it charitably, pro-amnesty. “Toxicwall” was intended, as Boston architect Henry Louis Miller notes, to “respon(d) to the bullying, isolationist tone creeping into the national debate on immigration.” But good humor has an element of truth in it and there are a lot of people who would say about such a wall, bring it on! (I don’t think we need to go to quite that extreme. Just finishing the border fence we’re planning now would be a big help, but the problem also lies partly in the employers who hire illegals and a wall doesn’t stop much on that count.)

This also serves as fodder to introduce another group I’ve become aware of which I’ll be tracking as things go forward. Because I was a contributor to onetime Presidential candidate Duncan Hunter’s campaign, I also get e-mail from his son’s. USMC Capt. Duncan D. Hunter is running to succeed his father and has the backing of the pro-border security Minuteman PAC (as do several Congressional incumbents, including Eastern Shore of Virginia Rep. Thelma Drake.) In their view:

These United States are at war, and under siege by forces and interests that have the capacity, over time, to destroy our great experiment of responsible self-government.

So perhaps a wall like Miller describes would suit the Minuteman group just fine. And having the two items come almost simultaneously from such varied sources seems to indicate that border security and immigration aren’t going away as issues, despite the best efforts of both Presidential candidates to sidestep about their pro-amnesty positions.

So Obama picked Biden – what’s next?

The leak beat the mass texting, so thousands of Americans were waken overnight to find out Barack Obama selected Delaware Senator Joe Biden to be his Vice-Presidential running mate. While Biden seemed like the odds-on favorite, it was a pick that apparently makes an attempt to shore up what is commonly thought to be Obama’s most glaring weakness, a lack of experience dealing with foreign affairs. However, the choice of Biden means that neither of the two top Democrats will have executive experience or have spent much time in the private sector – both have primarily been politicians for much of their adult lives. Biden’s political career spans nearly four decades. (The only Democrat finalist who had recent executive experience was Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius.) Nor does the pick of Biden help Obama win a major number of electoral votes. There’s not many polls done in Delaware, but a February poll I found in Hedgehog Report had Obama up nine points, 50-41 – moreover, Democrats control the state’s highest offices. Thus, it was pretty apparent Obama shouldn’t have been too worried about those three Delaware electoral votes – although it is still a close election in the Electoral College too.

Closer to home, Biden’s potential election to the second-highest office in the land would enable the First State to finally garner a spot among those states who have had a chief executive in office. (This with the caveat that Biden is actually a Pennsylvania native but moved with his family to Delaware as a boy.) It also presents the intriguing situation of having Biden on the ballot twice in one election. In a quick reading of Delaware election law, I found no prohibition on Biden being on the ballot as both a candidate for United States Senator and Vice-President; however, there are interesting political implications if he’s elected to both offices. Here is Title 15, Chapter 73 of the Delaware Code, which covers a vacancy in the office of United States Senator.

If the Obama/Biden ticket wins nationally and Senator Biden is also retained, the timing of Biden’s resignation will hinge on whoever wins the race for Governor. The odds-on favorite would be whoever survives the Democrats’ primary between State Treasurer Jack Markell and Lieutenant Governor John Carney, but if presumptive GOP hopeful Bill Lee wins in November Biden would certainly tender his Senate resignation before outgoing Democratic Governor Ruth Ann Minner leaves office so a Democrat could be picked. If you run under the assumption of the Democrats retaining the Governorship, it’s possible that because the Senate term begins about two weeks before the Presidential one, Biden would have the chance to be sworn in as a Senator for another term before switching seats and taking over the spot Dick Cheney has held so well for the last eight years as President of the Senate.

This also could create an outstanding consolation prize for the loser of the Markell-Carney race. More than most states, Delaware seems to have politicians cycle between various offices and certainly Delaware’s Democrats would be mindful that the Biden replacement would be on the ballot once again in 2010 to finish the remainder of his term. (It would give Delaware voters five consecutive U.S. Senate elections since 2010 would have otherwise been the “off” year, as 2008 is here in Maryland.) If they select Markell to become a Senator then the Democrats would have to pick a state Treasurer to finish his term, and then a vacancy would occur in whatever office the new Treasurer hailed from, and so on. One thing Delaware Democrats have is a pretty deep bench of officeholders, mainly from Wilmington and New Castle County. Meanwhile, Carney is not running from cover so he’ll need a job come 2009 should he lose the primary fight.

There’s a tremendous amount of intrigue possible depending on the circumstances, but Delaware voters also have the chance to help end Joe Biden’s political career as well. They could help elect John McCain as President and shock the nation by voting Christine O’Donnell into the United States Senate. I was actually planning on looking at the three major Delaware races from the standpoint of my pet issues, but this breaking news took precedence so perhaps I’ll do the posts over Labor Day weekend. If a Delaware blogger can take interest in a Maryland race, I’ll make up for his lack of attention to his home state and provide my own insight.

Crossposted at That’s Elbert With An E.

The rump convention

Since I’ve made this a theme of sorts, I decided to bring up a true internet phenomenon today – the 2008 campaign of Presidential hopeful Ron Paul. The guy who used all the tricks of the internet to raise millions for a campaign which barely registered when it came to actual votes has moved on to form yet another net-based organization called the Campaign for Liberty. Their big opening event (the Rally for the Republic) could be construed as a thumb to the eye of the GOP establishment, seeing that it will be held in Minneapolis concurrently with the Republican convention.

I’m not saying this to disparage the effort – after all, I signed up to be a member of the Campaign for Liberty because there are a lot of Ron Paul’s ideas I do agree with. (He and I just don’t see eye-to-eye on combatting terrorism.) I do happen to think that the GOP is more amenable to these principles for the most part and it will be interesting to see what if any interaction occurs between the two sets of conventioneers.

But there are going to be some unique quirks about this Campaign for Liberty shindig, particularly as it will feature as much entertainment as political speeches. (It’s great if you’re into country music, to me not so much.) I had to chuckle when I saw the part about Ronvoys, though.

For those who are dying to go but can’t afford plane tickets or gas, they have come up with a low-budget way to get to Minneapolis via van or bus called a Ronvoy. There are ten Ronvoys which will stop in various cities to get to the Rally, with the closest one to us here on Delmarva starting in Washington, D.C. and stopping in Hagerstown, MD. So I wouldn’t expect these folks to be a strain on the limousine business in the Twin Cities, unlike the situation in Denver.

And with an eclectic guest list of speakers, I’m sure the participants in the Rally for the Republic will have plenty to think and talk about as they make their way back home. Certainly the C4L site will have an array of video and blogging from the event, and it may make for more interesting stuff than will come from that other convention in town. (Hey, I tried to liven things up at that one, but everyone probably assumed I was a Ron Paul supporter anyway.)

It’s yet another source of blogging fodder that I’ll be getting in the future, one of many such organizations trying to be like me and make a difference.

It wasn’t a townhall, but it was McCain vs. Obama

Earlier in the campaign, GOP Presidential hopeful Senator John McCain challenged Democrat standardbearer Senator Barack Obama to a series of townhall meetings as a way for Americans to compare and contrast their approach to issues. In doing that, two things were obvious: John McCain felt that he could clean Barack Obama’s clock in that style of debate, and his campaign probably felt as if they were the underdog going forward. This is particularly true given the “drive-by” media’s fawning coverage of the Obama campaign – playing up the highlights and glossing over the gaffes and misstatements.

While the pair were not on stage together, fellow blogger Bob McCarty recounted his observations on a candidate forum held at the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. Dubbed the Saddleback Civil Forum, moderator and church pastor Rick Warren questioned both candidates for an hour apiece. It was an opportunity to compare and contrast each candidate’s approach without the full time constraints of a formal debate.

Obviously it could be argued that the natural advantage went to John McCain because he went last, but Barack Obama also had a crack at making a good first impression. But I really brought this into the light because here was a newsworthy item that didn’t get a lot of play since it wasn’t held under the auspices of a television network or newspaper – rather, it was held in a religious setting. And had it not been for a blogger, I wouldn’t have become aware of the forum being held in the first place; still, millions will not have this piece of information known to them when they cast their ballots in November.

I’ve always operated under an assumption, that being when a voter is as well-informed as possible he or she will tap the touchscreen next to the candidate who is more conservative. It’s why I despise campaigning thirty seconds at a time on television – of course, I know that this method reaches the most people in the most efficient manner but 30 seconds is far too little to make more than one or two points and in most cases these points are simply negative ones toward the candidate’s opponent. (Yes, I make a lot of negative points toward liberals too but given the team that’s in charge, it’s necessary to point out their shortcomings. Where I do sometimes fall short is not providing sound alternatives, but once you have a pretty good understanding of how I write you should be able to figure out the overriding themes of limited government and enhanced personal freedom relatively well.)

The one issue I do have with the internet is that there’s almost too much information on a lot of things which aren’t necessarily important to how a candidate will perform once elected. On the other hand, it’s much better than the vacuum created by the thirty-second commercials, and I encourage everyone who’s interested to take an hour or two and do the research.

However, the first step in this process is internal. About this time last year I selected a Presidential candidate I liked, but first I had to decide the issues which were most important to me. There’s still time to complete that process before November and if monoblogue can be a help in making a decision, I’m happy to oblige.

Pictures from a show

Unlike Joe Albero and Salisbury News, I didn’t take a whole lot of pictures for public consumption at the Wicomico Home and Farm Show. (I’d link, but wouldn’t it be more fun to wade through 14 other articles on 14 different topics to find the right one?) There’s really only three photos which you really need to see in my estimation, and each has a story that I’ll assist in telling.

I’ve been here for four WHFS events, and for at least the last three the Wicomico County Republicans have placed up a booth similar to this. (If you don’t believe me, you can go here and here. Those detractors of mine may get a chuckle out what I was tossing in the second link.) In spending my teenage years in a rural area, I know that farm country is generally Republican country so it’s no surprise that we cater to our base of people who derive their incomes from agriculture.

We finally received the McCain yard signs which people clamored to get, starting with the Delmarva Chicken Festival in June. I don’t have the exact numbers, but at least during my shifts we gave out both Andy Harris and John McCain items out regularly. I’m suspecting things were even quicker during the evenings while I was away.

So let us contrast this with the other side of the political coin, shall we?

What you’re seeing is the sum total of the Democrats’ participation in the WHFS, insofar as I can tell. No one worked their table on a regular basis when I was present, although Jim Ireton did come in briefly first thing Friday to find some of our items on his table. I half-jokingly told him someone was trying to send him a message, but he huffily said something in the vein of us not showing respect. Well, Jim, kids don’t always show respect and when I asked around that was who folks blamed for hanging around the vacant table. I realize you’re not necessarily in your element when much of the surroundings is geared toward those who farm and their active 4-H offspring, but I was disappointed the Democrats chose not to add more to the process – particularly with their Congressional candidate who’s billing himself as a moderate.

Moreover, Frank Kratovil made me into a liar, since I didn’t check his Saturday schedule beforehand. He opted to stay closer to home, and apparently won’t necessarily be an adherent to the man at the top of his ticket who vowed to campaign in even the reddest of areas. (Or, as Barack Obama so famously gaffed, all 57 states.)

However, I can vouch for his opponent making the rounds Saturday:

Yes, State Senator Harris was holding court right at the main corner, talking with a number of would-be constituents about the issues important to them. The conversation I overheard while taking this picture just happened to be along the same lines as the subject of a recent post, as private property rights are so very important in the agricultural field. By taking away the freedom to use land as one wishes, they are essentially stealing value from the owner, just as if an armed robber kicked in the front door of his home and took the landowner’s other worldly possessions.

With that, another Wicomico Farm and Home Show has come and gone, and I’d like to thank those who assisted with manning our booth. Maybe it wasn’t the most exciting task, but having our faces in the place should pay dividends later on.

Hunter speaks out again

Since he dropped out of the Presidential race earlier this year, we hadn’t heard much from longtime California Congressman Duncan Hunter. Now in the homestretch of a 28-year House career (his son is running to succeed him), the elder Hunter has found himself as part of a little bit of history as one of those recalcitrant Republicans who wouldn’t go home when Nancy Pelosi told him to.

Thanks to my blogger ally The Waterman (Aquaman, Questing for Atlantis) for coming across this video spot featuring my originally chosen Presidential candidate:

While I think he somewhat overplays the Straits of Hormuz angle (since we get more oil from Canada and, at times, Mexico than from any particular Middle East nation) Rep. Hunter is right on the mark when he notes, “you can’t put wind in a gas tank.” Then again, with his defense background Duncan has always seen things in a little bit different light when it comes to domestic economic issues.

One reason to hope for a John McCain victory this fall is the hope that Duncan Hunter can be part of the administration, perhaps even as Secretary of Defense. I don’t think Barack Obama would care much for Hunter’s defensive-minded approach so if Obama wins, Duncan will just have to retire to San Diego and look back on a solid career in the House. If Hunter decides to run again for President in 2012 though, he’ll still be my early favorite until someone can top him on the issues I’m most passionate about.