State of Conservatism – Page 134

An idea to consider

In place of my usual LFS op-ed this Sunday (because my last one hasn’t cleared yet,) I’m going to posit another more localized idea. At least this time I don’t have a 600-word limit!

Regarding elections, Maryland’s Constitution notes in Article XVII, Section 2:

Except for a special election that may be authorized to fill a vacancy in a County Council under Article XI-A, Section 3 of the Constitution, elections by qualified voters for State and county officers shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday of November, in the year nineteen hundred and twenty-six, and on the same day in every fourth year thereafter.

This was ratified in 1922 and since then 21 state elections have been held on a four-year cycle. Barring death or resignation, this limits turnover in the legislature and seems to limit accountability, lending itself to the growth of government. (There’s always the argument that at least some experienced hands are necessary, which causes inertia.) Furthermore, since a governor goes into office with the content of the General Assembly known for the next four years, he (or eventually she) has to tailor his agenda to what he knows can pass and can’t easily make bold, sweeping changes unless they are in the direction of larger government – the Democrats have held the General Assembly since the mid-1800’s.

I think there’s a better way to instill accountability, but it would cause pain for some legislators while the process begins. Oh well.

Many states have adopted a staggered system where a portion of their legislature turns over every two years. In Maryland this idea can take form in one of two ways:

have either the House or Senate as a body serve an interim two-year term to stagger the election cycle for each body, or
For one election only, Delegates and Senators in odd-numbered districts (1, 3, 5…all the way to 47) run for a two-year term while those in even-numbered districts (2, 4…and so on to 46) continue on the normal 4-year cycle. As an example, if this began with the 2010 term 24 Senators and 72 Delegates would be up for re-election in 2012 and 23 Senators and 69 Delegates would run in 2014. This is my preferred method.

The advantage of this extra check and balance on a governor’s power is the opportunity to reward or punish him or her by adding or subtracting supporters midterm. For example, if a Republican won in 2010 but couldn’t pass his agenda because of recalcitrant Democrats in the General Assembly, the opportunity would exist for popular sentiment behind him to be expressed by the removal of those obstacles in 2012. If Martin O’Malley were re-elected, it would be harder to pass a budget-bloating, tax-raising agenda through the General Assembly if some members knew their re-election was nigh. It’s the accountability, stupid.

Obviously this requires a Constitutional change, and 2010 presents a unique opportunity (although it also promises to be a Pandora’s Box of sorts too.)

Normally to be amended the proposed Constitutional change goes through the General Assembly and requires a 3/5 majority vote in both the Maryland House of Delegates and Senate. But in Maryland’s Constitution, Section 2 of Article XIV notes:

It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to provide by Law for taking, at the general election to be held in the year nineteen hundred and seventy, and every twenty years thereafter, the sense of the People in regard to calling a Convention for altering this Constitution; and if a majority of voters at such election or elections shall vote for a Convention, the General Assembly, at its next session, shall provide by Law for the assembling of such convention, and for the election of Delegates thereto. Each County, and Legislative District of the City of Baltimore, shall have in such Convention a number of Delegates equal to its representation in both Houses at the time at which the Convention is called. But any Constitution, or change, or amendment of the existing Constitution, which may be adopted by such Convention, shall be submitted to the voters of this State, and shall have no effect unless the same shall have been adopted by a majority of the voters voting thereon.

2010 just so happens to be one of those years, and there is a website advocating a “yes” vote. But any change would still need to be approved by voters so the final call is up to us.

This also would present an opportunity to force the legislature to adopt other items which would serve as a check and balance, such as term limits and the possibility of a recall election for wayward members of the House of Delegates or Senate. We could even enshrine the idea of a “taxpayer bill of rights,” which would keep spending increases from exceeding the sum of inflation plus population growth without voter approval. (For example, 3% inflation and 1% population growth would mean the budget could only increase 4 percent.)

The hard part would be getting good items like those without adding bad items like overt restrictions on growth in critical areas or specifying excessive amounts of spending on education into the Constitution. Voters last year managed to muck it up with slot machines and early voting, and those will be hard to get rid of (although they could be in a new convention.) Just keep the special interests out of the room and it could go well.

2009 on the other side

Mitch Stewart, of the group I like to call Organizing Against America, checked in the other day with his 2009 assessment. Aside from my leaving out their overt begging for funds, this is how Stewart saw their year:

Looking back at 2009, it turns out you were right.

Early this year, millions of you chose to keep working together and create Organizing for Against America, to build on the momentum of the Obama campaign, take on the defenders of the status quo, and make change happen.

Special interests thought they could steamroll you with hundreds of millions of dollars in lobbying and attack ads. Meanwhile, you built a massive organization, driven by local leadership, that reached out to millions of fellow Americans and made your voices heard to Congress in record numbers.

In the coming year, our opponents will make a final stand to block health reform and seek to defeat many of the President’s other crucial initiatives. And they’re already targeting those in Congress who are championing change.

So I wanted to take a moment at year’s end to reflect on everything you’ve built, and to ask for your help one last time this year to hit the ground running in 2010…

…This has been a remarkable year for the movement you’ve built from the ground up.

Beth Kimbriel, a mother of four from Richmond, Virginia, has no formal political experience. But every week, as an OFA “Community Organizer,” she trains and manages other volunteer leaders to organize effectively around the President’s agenda. Hundreds of her fellow OFA Community Organizers around the country have already volunteered more than 200,000 hours doing similar work. Thousands more have taken on other leadership positions in every single state. And we’re still growing — nearly a million people who had never volunteered for the presidential campaign have signed up with OFA this year.

Supporters spread the word throughout our communities, with more than a million conversations with neighbors on the phone and at the doorstep, and 250,000 letters to the editor about how President Obama’s policies would help ordinary Americans.

And when Congress was making crucial decisions, you spoke out more powerfully than the special interests ever could. In the last few months, you’ve made more than 1 million calls to Congress — including more than 300,000 on one amazing day in October that created huge momentum for health reform. Thousands of supporters attended town halls to counter the shouting mobs and speak out in person. And you even held 37,107 events in every congressional district — bus tour rallies, phonebanks and forums to inform your neighbors.

These incredible efforts have powered victories on a wide range of issues. OFA volunteers provided a huge boost to help pass the Recovery Act, President Obama’s historic budget, an expansion of children’s health care, credit card and student loan reform. Your voices helped pass a historic green jobs and energy bill in the House, and the confirmation of the nation’s first Latina Supreme Court justice, Sonia Sotomayor, in the Senate. And of course, you were instrumental in passing comprehensive health reform through both houses of Congress for the first time in American history.

With every phone call to a member of Congress, every door knocked on a rainy day, every event held in a town center, you’ve helped to push this country forward.

But with the special interests and their allies in Congress fighting us for every inch, we need your help again to keep our organizing strong in 2010. (Emphasis in original, strikethrough obviously mine!)

Well, Mitch, looking back at 2009, I know I was right – correct in fighting your idiocy and ignorance of Constitutional government practically every step of the way. Hate to break it to you folks, but the Constitution IS the “special interest” of the American people.

As a member of one of those “shouting mobs” I’d also like to point out that you have a LONG way to go still to secure so-called “health care reform,” and I haven’t received one dime from Big Insurance to say this. That’s because I don’t need to be paid to be right. (It would be nice, though.) On the other hand, Beth Kimbriel, the Virginia volunteer who Stewart cites in his e-mail, conceded “‘it’s difficult to be believed’ when she lays out the president’s position” in a Los Angeles Times article back in August. Beth, the President has no position because we’ve never seen “his” bill and he won’t claim ownership of one until he signs whatever is passed.

And the only push forward we’ve gotten from Obama’s allies is one closer to an economic precipice. Without new private-sector job growth, the economy will sputter and if this is considered a recovery I’d hate to see their version of prosperity and growth.

The idea behind putting this up, though, is to show my side what we’re up against. We need to work twice as hard as they do because the job of slowing down government is much more difficult than the default position of growing it. (Reversing the tide may be ten times more difficult still.)

But Mitch made an interesting choice of words in that boldly emphasized sentence – “the movement you’ve built from the ground up.” That’s exactly how Astrotrurf is installed – you tear out the sod in place, bury the barren soil in a layer of pea gravel, and roll the Astroturf out on top. The grassroots have no chance as they’re smothered away from light and most of the water.

That seems to be the goal of this administration – snuffing out the political grassroots represented by thoughtful Americans and instead placing an impermeable layer of bland sameness atop them.

A message to Annapolis

We’re just 12 days away from the “90 days of terror” annually perpetrated by our General Assembly. But this year’s session will begin with a message for our legislators: it’s an election year and we’re watching you.

For months our attention has been placed squarely on the happenings of Congress and the shenanigans on Capitol Hill. Health care, cap-and-trade, card check – all are attempts by the federal government to take away our freedoms. Unfortunately, the situation with the state government in Maryland is no better.

When Governor O’Malley and our legislators convene next month to begin the 90 day Maryland General Assembly legislative session, they will be facing a $2 billion budget deficit. Even after the largest tax increase in Maryland history (2007) and nearly $4 billion in federal stimulus funding, the politicians in Annapolis are projected to spend more money than they can collect. Combine the deficit with a 26-year high unemployment level, and we the taxpayers have a huge mess on our hands.

Governor O’Malley (D-MD), House Speaker Michael Busch (D-District 30) and Senate President Mike Miller (D-27) have already talked about tax increases to cover the budget hole. The last thing taxpayers and small businesses need right now is another tax hike. We need to let the politicians in the State House know we will NOT stand for that. We need to send them a message: “No More Deficits, No More Tax Hikes, Bring Back Our Jobs!”

The chance to send them this message is a TEA Party on January 13, 2010 –the first day of the MGA legislative session. AFP-Maryland has launched a special website for this event. At 7 p.m., along with hundreds of others, we will convene at the steps of the State House in Annapolis to make our voices heard. Grover Norquist from Americans for Tax Reform and our national president Tim Phillips will be the keynote speakers. CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE. You can pre-register for the TEA Party, see other activities to participate in that day, and find out how to catch a local bus to the event. (Please make sure you register for a bus with the BUS CAPTAINS.)

We have the ability to change the way business is done in Annapolis. Unlike Congress, the members of the General Assembly are, for the most part, more accessible and easier to track down. With 2010 being an election year, AFP-Maryland is in a great position to affect policy. Please go to MarchOnAnnapolis.com, pre-register for the event, sign up for a bus, and pass the information to friends, family and neighbors.

It goes into the “mad as hell and can’t take it anymore” department.

The problem is that there are a number of legislators who know they don’t have to listen to our requests because they’ve bamboozled their voting public enough to make them believe the higher taxes only go to the “rich,” health care is “free,” and their only way out of their dilemma is to keep voting the same politicians in because “someday” they’ll make things better – but only if they continue to be placed in power. Generations have been born, educated, raised children, and died in a vain wait on these pols to make things better – but somehow these unfortunate souls still hold out hope a sugar daddy will improve their lot in life.

We on my side are speaking out but after the protests are over the second part of the equation is convincing voters we have a better alternative and they need to take a chance on allowing these changes to happen. Those who take comfort in the reliability of a government handout are naturally susceptible to threats of that lifeline being taken away if the “other” party somehow gains power. Even I know that these programs can’t disappear overnight, but they must eventually if freedom and liberty are to prevail.

Some consider groups like AFP “astroturf” because they have corporate backing, but to me it’s simply a vehicle to facilitate expression. They’ve shrewdly placed themselves aboard a nascent TEA Party movement that found a critical mass simply because of an utterance on a network news show and built up their own network of political activists – activists who are simply acting as a counter to the network put in place by the slick marketing and packaging of a man who eventually became President.

Our side has some catching up to do, but right is on our side and it makes that matter easier. It should be a fun time in Annapolis twelve days hence.

Oh, and one more thing: even if Annapolis shapes up, I’m going to be skeptical that the trend will continue once the year passes and some of these legislators are safely re-elected for the next four years. I have one idea I’m saving for a post later today or tomorrow.

Lewis suspends Congressional bid temporarily

Citing “family health issues,” independent candidate for Congress Chris Lewis announced yesterday he was temporarily suspending his campaign for Congress.

Lewis would have time to restart his bid in time to meet the non-affiliated filing deadline in August, but obviously taking care of more important business would put him behind the 8-ball. It’s worthy to note that Lewis’ tersely worded statement stated that the family issues were just part of the problem, but the rest wasn’t revealed.

Also left unanswered is the prospect of a prospective fundraiser at Perdue Stadium next spring with a noteworthy musical guest (whose video I’ve featured before.) From the details I’ve gathered several other grassroots-type organizations would also participate so it’s likely that would go on whether Lewis remains in the race or not. Further, it’s likely that the push to place a Conservative Party on Maryland’s ballot line will also continue regardless of his status.

As Chris Lewis was one of the spearheads behind the local TEA Party effort, this is a test to determine its continued viability. I suspect it would pass with flying colors regardless of Chris’s political timetable.

The 2010 slush fund

Last week I received word from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University of a study they did, and the results don’t surprise me. Mercatus Center scholars Veronique de Rugy and Jerry Brito researched a number of federal outlets to figure out that Congressional districts with Democrats are getting twice as much stimulus money as those represented by Republicans but the majority of money isn’t going to areas with the highest unemployment rates. Wait, wasn’t the stimulus supposed to put people back to work?

While the study itself is a tribute to how figures can lie and liars can figure, it also seems to me a contradiction in terms. Here’s why.

For decades, the political perception has been that Democrats are for the working man and Republicans for the rich. If you look at things this way, it makes some sense that Democrat-leaning districts get more funding as poor people tend to need more government assistance.

On the other hand, one would think that since the stimulus was supposed to keep unemployment under 8 percent that those districts which have chronic high unemployment would be those getting funding, and this study shows it’s not necessarily the case. Obviously if you happen to live under a Democrat Congressman in a high unemployment area the money should be rolling in, but apparently that’s not how the stimulus works.

In Washington circa 2009, it’s apparent that everything has become a political calculation. Yet I’d be willing to bet that if the GOP were in charge and Republican-leaning districts were shown to be getting the largest benefit from some government program the mainstream media would be blasting this study all over their newscasts. (Of course, if Republicans had been pressing for such a program they would be getting blame from both sides – the media would be excoriating them for being partisan and conservatives like me would have been angry for their proposing the big-government solution.)

But, just as we’ve seen in the health care debate, having the availability of federal goodies to hand out in order to help with re-election is always handy – it’s one extremely large pot of walking-around money and the best means of wealth redistribution socialists have yet found. Thus, I wouldn’t expect any change in the payout ratio as the 2010 election draws near and Democrats attempt to use every means at their disposal to maintain their grip on power in Washington.

Friday night videos episode 17

Because this will be the last edition of FNV for 2009 (yes, Virginia, next Friday is Christmas and I’m taking the day off) this episode is subtitled, “The Year in Review.” Yep, it’s a best-of FNV and this will feature my ten favorite videos of those I featured in 2009.

Let’s begin with number 10, Rep. Michele Bachmann’s apt description of government circa 2009:

Number 9 is the first of several movie trailers I liked, for “Not Evil, Just Wrong.”

Coming in at number 8 is the pledge to “Defeat the Debt.”

Another movie trailer for “Border” grabs the number 7 spot.

This clever spot for “Obamacare – Line 6” finishes at number 6.

Coming in at number 5 is another reminder why we don’t need socialized medicine.

Number 4 is the third and final movie trailer, for “TEA Party: The Documentary.”

In a related story, this film about the 9-12 march by a local filmmaker comes in at number 3.

The runner-up at number 2 is the funny short “Health Rations and You.”

My favorite video from FNV 2009 comes from last week. I just plain like the message of this song!

So there you have it – the best of my FNV series for 2009. By the way, a couple of my music videos shot in October were just outside the top 10, but it looks like I’ll have more contenders for next year’s honors because I took several at Skip Dixxon’s 12 Bands of Christmas last night. If they come out well, look for them on the monoblogue YouTube channel over the next few weeks.

Because the next two Fridays are holidays, the plan is for FNV 18 to come out on January 8th. I’ll have quite a bit to choose from since I have two weeks off so that may be one of the best episodes yet. Look for it to kick off FNV in 2010.

Friday night videos episode 16

Well, whadda you know, it’s back. Let’s see what fun stuff I can dredge up tonight.

I’ll start with Nancy Pelosi – this was in another folder and I happened to stumble back upon it. The words “tax increase” just can’t seem to escape her lips, even if you try to read them.

On the other hand, a good conservative woman makes points about the nuts who want to fund ACORN. I just like to tweak my friends on the left by putting Michele Bachmann online. From the Washington News-Observer:

From the same source, three legislators who have embraced the TEA Party movement talk about some of those things which have drawn their support. Here are Representatives Marsha Blackburn, Joe Wilson, and Tom Price.

The Center for Individual Freedom talks about Obamacare and its effect on youth. Hey, I like the part about eating vegetables, getting exercise, and preventative care for twentysomethings.

The group American Solutions decided to do its own jobs summit last week, asking businessmen in Allentown, PA what they would suggest the government do to help them create jobs. These words were likely barely uttered in Obama’s job summit there.

The video has a good message, but the cuts were a bit jarring. I don’t know if it was timed to coincide with the Billy Joel song in the background but they could’ve done a better job with it.

Turning to state issues, candidate for Governor Larry Hogan made one of his first stump speeches to a gathering of Republicans in Howard County. This is the first Vimeo video I’ve embedded so it comes at a smaller size – the advantage is that it can play all at once without the usual 10 minute YouTube limit.

As I promised last week, here’s part 2 of Washington News-Observer’s interview with Ann Coulter.

Normally, that would have been the end but I liked this video Chris Lewis brought to my attention. In the wake of the 9-12 march on Washington, D.C. Ava Aston wrote and performed this song, and she describes it this way:

“We The People” is a song I wrote over the weekend of the 9/12 March. My desire is to inspire Americans who are frustrated and feel discouraged to become invigorated & to stand up and take back our Republic.

The upcoming elections in November 2010, as well as the next Presidential election will determine what America will become. I hope and pray with every fiber of my being that we citizens Democrat, Republican, Independent, or whatever… will unite and fight to keep our Republic the way it was intended. Liberty, Justice and Freedom for every citizen, and for us to be governed For the People and By the People as our Constitution instructs.

Let’s see if we can get this to a LOT more than 4,000 or so views.

The song sort of falls in the space between rock and country, but I can deal with it. Bet my friends from Semiblind could make a good version of it – but they’re probably going to be a subject for another edition of FNV. Until next time, enjoy and crank this one up.

The virtual opposition

I like this. Not sure it’s going to do a lot of good or get a lot of play, but it’s good discussion fodder for a Friday afternoon:

Maryland Republican Party Chair Audrey Scott released the following statement in response to Governor Martin O’Malley’s virtual town hall taking place (yesterday) evening:

“It is fitting that Governor O’Malley would attempt to engage Marylanders in a virtual town hall since his administration seems to have been operating in a virtual reality. Here in the real world, Maryland families are looking at the economic leadership coming from Annapolis and the picture has been bleak. Since O’Malley has come into office over 200,000 jobs have been lost. When is Governor O’Malley going to stop living in the virtual world and start offering real solutions for real Maryland families?”

You forgot to mention his band, Audrey. Larry Hogan likes to do that and it makes for a fun counterpoint. By the way, the original release cites the 200,000 job loss number as it comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

I’m starting to wonder if there’s an intent to start offering real solutions from the O’Malley bunch. Instead, the trend over the last three years has been to:

Overbudget and need to make cuts later, generally in areas which directly affect Maryland families.
Depend more and more upon federal money to fill holes in the state budget.
Continue to tax and regulate people away from investment in Maryland business.

In short, the state’s government continues to expand well beyond the functions it’s supposed to do and into the wallets and private lives of Maryland residents. Obviously 2010 promises to be more of the same because there’s an election next year and, if anything, recent history had shown that fiscal responsibility will be stretched to the breaking point in the final budget of a governor’s term in order to distribute goodies to prospective voters.

The GOP will have to be watching like a hawk, but more importantly it needs to be a united front against fiscal mismanagement. Sadly, several members of the GOP delegation tend too much to “go along to get along” with General Assembly Democrats to get a few crumbs of the overall pie. If the GOP has put up a responsible budget alternative and the final budget votes don’t reflect at least a party-line 33-14 and 104-37 vote in the Senate and House of Delegates, respectively, it will send a message of weak-willedness to Maryland voters and hurt the GOP’s chances next year.

MDGOP gets new Executive Director

The revolving door which has been the Maryland Republican Party leadership hopefully has been stopped with the appointment of a new Executive Director – by resume she could be a winner. This from the Examiner:

Kim Jorns will be starting in the position as of January 1. She is currently the Director of Finance of the Virginia Republican Party, and comes highly recommended by contacts in Virginia. “They are very sad to lose her,” said Ms. Scott, “which speaks volumes.”

Ms. Jorns is originally from Wisconsin, serving as Director of Finance for the state party, and being instrumental in helping the struggling Republican party in that state to rebuild. She repeated the performance in Virginia with its challenged state party. Ms. Scott said, “She’s got the experience we need here in Maryland, from fundraising to a reputation for hard work. Our focus now is on fundraising, so one of the first things she is planning to do is to develop a finance plan for the party.”

All well and good, and with the background I wonder if a couple of my friends know her from days gone by in Wisconsin and Virginia.

The key element is indeed finance. Unlike the Democrats, who can count on union dues confiscated from workers being transferred magically to their campaign accounts (assuming they’re good little Democrats and back the union line on their key issues) the GOP relies mainly on smaller donations from interested individuals. Given the success Republicans enjoyed in Virginia a month ago, it’s good we can get a winner on our team.

So once Jorns gets on board after the holidays, it would be nice if she (and new party Chair Audrey Scott) begin to reach out to the smaller counties. While we’re in the midst of filling two new positions on our Central Committee, choosing from a number of well-qualified candidates (and I presume Worcester County is doing the same), surely we can make time to meet with Scott and Jorns because you can call us skeptics at the moment. Bear in mind that Wicomico was the only county not supporting Scott at the recent convention.

It’s time for the squeaky wheel to get the grease. Do I want to see more Republicans elected? Of course I do, although my preference is for the most conservative ones we can find, people who favor limiting the size and scope of government, to be placed into positions of power. We’re happy to help but we want our concerns addressed too.

So good luck to Kim Jorns as she assumes this task. It’s a formidable one but we’ll help any way we can.

Message to TPX3: don’t forget Delmarva

Having interviewed one of the main protagonists not once, but twice as a result of cross-country bus tours, I probably have a little more insight than the average person on what the goals of the Tea Party Express were and continue to be.

That’s why I’m a little disappointed with the first look at the route planned for next March and April as TPX3 rolls across the country once again. The route covers 27 states and does briefly run through Delaware and Maryland (via I-95) on its way to the final stop in Washington D.C.

But unless they’re planning a whistle stop somewhere in the northeast corner of Maryland they’re forgetting about a vulnerable Democrat freshman who voted in favor of cap-and-tax, and wouldn’t necessarily pass up a chance to support Obamacare and restoring the death tax if certain conditions were met (I refer to them as his thirty pieces of silver – needless to say they come at taxpayer expense.)

With the looping path being taken already, I don’t think it’s all that difficult to spend an afternoon (most likely April 14, the eve of the next major taxpayer rally in Washington, D.C.) traversing the Delmarva because there’s a lot at stake in the 2010 election in our neck of the woods, too. We’ll have two freshman Democrats (Kratovil of Maryland and Nye of Virginia) running for re-election as well as an open Congressional seat in Delaware as Mike Castle tries to move to the Senate – most likely against Joe Biden’s son Beau, the First State’s current Attorney General. The Democrats already have a pretty strong candidate eyeing that Congressional seat, former Lieutentant Governor John Carney. The “Delaware Way” doesn’t have to be the only way.

Perhaps a good way to convince them to work our way is to show them the money. But I’d rather do it through a simple application of logic because we’re not a people of vast means.

They have the opportunity to influence four different races (if you count Maryland’s U.S. Senate seat which is up for election and held by Barbara Mikulski) in a few hours’ work on a peninsula which too often feels shut out of the political process. So that’s my bid and hopefully they’ll listen.

A message to GOP brass from Rasmussen

I’m going to let Bill Wilson of the group Americans for Limited Government begin the discussion and set up the premise; after all that’s what alerted me to the Rasmussen poll:

“The stunning Rasmussen Poll showing the Republican Party finishing a decided third to a hypothetical ‘Tea Party’ candidate should send shock waves through the GOP. It demonstrates once again that the timid, tepid Republican leadership is leading its party to the brink of disaster. Tens of millions of Americans are looking for strong leadership to stand up to the Obama-Reid-Pelosi leftwing onslaught. Instead, the Republican Party is giving them the same shilly-shally two-step that cost it a majority in Congress, and the Oval Office. Looks like the American people are telling the GOP in no uncertain terms, ‘Lead, follow — or get out of the way.'”

(Today), Rasmussen Reports released the following information:

In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote. The Tea Party candidate picks up 23%, and Republicans finish third at 18%. Another 22% are undecided.

Among voters not affiliated with either major party, the Tea Party comes out on top.

For this survey, the respondents were asked to assume that the Tea Party movement organized as a new political party.

This tells me two things, one of which was pointed out by Wilson in his intro.

First of all, the GOP is slow to embrace the TEA Party movement because they’re a bottom-up, grassroots effort that scares the living daylights out of the inside-the-Beltway crowd running the party (and yes, that includes Michael Steele.) And the GOP elitist crowd seems afraid to make sure candidates have at least some adherence to principle, as I noted a couple weeks back.

Having been a veteran of Republican circles over most of the last 15 years, it seems to me that those who consider themselves Republican are indeed open to a third party if the GOP continues its drift away from conservatism, and this poll proves the case. (It’s even more striking on some of the internals.) Yet Rasmussen notes in the synopsis:

In practical terms, it is unlikely that a true third-party option would perform as well as the polling data indicates. The rules of the election process—written by Republicans and Democrats–provide substantial advantages for the two established major parties. The more conventional route in the United States is for a potential third-party force to overtake one of the existing parties.

It’s good that this was mentioned because it brings up my second point. In a straight three-party race the Democrat wins a plurality of the vote. But let’s assume for the sake of this argument that those who responded as voting for the GOP would lean more toward the TEA Party philosophy than the Democrats (I think that’s a pretty good bet.) Combine the two and you have the conservative coalition winning 40-36.

Rarely in national politics is there a parting on the Democratic side. However, there are examples of Republicans losing due to third-party ballots dating back almost a century:

In 1912, former president Theodore Roosevelt ran as his own Bull Moose Party and outpolled GOP incumbent William Howard Taft. But in the end Democrat Woodrow Wilson won and got a second term in 1916.
80 years later, Ross Perot won enough of the vote to allow Democrat Bill Clinton to win with a 43%-37% plurality over incumbent Republican George H.W. Bush. Bush didn’t help his cause, though, by raising taxes during his term.
On a more local level, just last year the third-party Libertarian candidate ran well enough to impact the local Congressional race, which a Democrat won by a 49% – 48% margin.
The Conservative Party candidacy of Doug Hoffman in New York’s 23rd Congressional District was considered the high water mark of the third-party movement, yet in most elections the Conservatives nominate the same candidate as the Republicans do – this was a somewhat rare exception.
On the other hand, Democrats can point to the Bush-Gore race in 2000 as an example of a left-wing third party spoiling the broth as Ralph Nader’s 97,000 votes in Florida would have presumably given the state to Gore easily had Nader not been on the ballot.

Most of American history has seen the presence of two main parties, and since the mid-1800’s those parties have been the Democratic and Republican parties. It is unfortunate in some ways that the system is rigged to maintain it as such, but these are the cards which have been dealt and there’s very little outcry about changing this.

I happen to think that the TEA Party supporters are the generational successors of the Reagan coalition he built in the 1980’s. Reagan won with a conservative, low-tax, pro-America, pro-freedom, limited-government platform (as Newt Gingrich did in 1994) and it’s a shame that the GOP got away from that in subsequent elections. Eventually it cost them control of both Congress and the White House.

Being the opposition to the Obama agenda may not be enough to convince the TEA Partiers to install the GOP into power because it’s not been that long since the charge that the GOP was simply Democrat-lite was embraced by voters. It’s worthy of note that Democrats came into power by running to the particular district, basically lying through their teeth that they would govern as centrists in order to win conservative-leaning districts. We have to employ that strategy in reverse, not allowing the Democrats to control the agenda and not allowing them to hide their left-wing voting record.

We know what we’re up against and it’s time to embrace a conservative agenda once again – but this time walking the walk and not just talking the talk.

Friday night videos episode 15

Since I skipped the weekend of Thanksgiving the return episode is bursting at the seams with stuff, so let’s get cracking!

This one is short, sweet, and to the point. It could be the theme for most of my FNV episodes and it comes from one of my favorite Senators, Jim DeMint (via the Washington News-Observer.)

So – what IS going on?

My blogging friend Bob McCarty went into the belly of the beast recently, crashing a strategy conference for the HealthCare Now gang – yep, those fools who think single-payer health care is the answer. Tim Carpenter is Executive Director of Progressive Democrats of America, and probably one of the seven people who voted for Dennis Kucinich for president.

And that’s not all – Bob has a stack of articles and video of that conference you can find here. Bob also covered a St. Louis-area event called the “Million Med March.”

Obviously Bob McCarty gets around, doesn’t he?

And Americans for Prosperity gets around as well. Here’s video from a recent town hall meeting with my state Delegates Jim Mathias and Norm Conway.

On a larger level, they’d also like a check so they can run this commercial on national TV. Heck, I’ll run it and they’re welcome to donate to my cause:

Seriously, this does make sense, particularly when the whole manmade climate change house of cards is tumbling down.

Looking forward to 2010, all indications are that immigration will be a hot-button issue. I can almost guarantee that Marc will be commenting on the statement by Rep. Steve King (this also from WNO.)

Somewhere there’s a middle ground, but I don’t believe in rewarding lawbreakers. I guess it comes down to what’s considered punishment enough for their transgressions (hint: it’s not letting them get away with it.) Of course, it may help if the federal government would get its act together, as Janice Kephart of the Center for Immigration Studies points out in this case study:

Then again, we have the OTHER gang that couldn’t shoot straight in Washington. House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner points this out in a video, my third from the Washington News-Observer.

I’m sure that naysayers will be pointing out the recession began under President Bush (since his adviser Larry Lindsey is featured in this video) but let me remind you that unemployment normally was in the 5% range under him – not in the double-digits and climbing.

I like to save the best for last. One of my favorite writers is Ann Coulter because she has a biting wit and style which influences how I write. So I enjoy the fact I can share this with you both this week and next week, because it’s in two parts.

You’ll get to enjoy part two of Coulter next week, which will hopefully be just as good as this week was given the fact I’ll have about half the material to work with. (That Washington News-Observer team was a busy one, wasn’t it?) Until then, you’ll just have to read my blog rather than watch it.