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What is it with the League of Woman’s Voters and the Pledge of Allegiance? For the second time in less than a week a congressional debate began with a request for the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, and for the second time in a week the League of Woman’s Voters moderator said no, and for the second time in a week the audience got up and said it anyway. One would think that with all of the bad publicity after last week’s incident, the League would have “gotten it.” But Tuesday night the League of Woman Voters proved that...

In a deja vu moment, a second crowd interrupts a Leave of Women Voters moderator to say the Pledge of Allegiance. A few days ago we posted a video of a crowd jumping to their feet to say the Pledge. That happened after an audience member asked the ACORN activist League of Women Voters moderator "Are we going to say the Pledge of Allegiance?", which she promptly stated "No we are not. That’s not part of the proposal tonight." The crowd defied her reply and stood to say the Pledge anyway. That same incident happened again as the debate between...

At a debate sponsored by the Illinois League of Women Voters between Democratic incumbent Rep. Melissa Bean, GOP challenger Joe Walsh and Green Party candidate Bill Scheurer Wednesday, the audience loudly objected when the moderator, Kathy Tate-Bradish, insisted on proceeding without reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. In the end, she didn’t stand a chance against the 300-member audience. The camera captures Republican Joe Walsh’s reaction: Ms. Tate-Bradish reportedly scolded the crowd after the pledge ended, blaming the outburst on the Republican candidate. The LWV executive director, Jan Czarnik, also condemned the Pledge’s recitation, telling the local news, “It’s a phony...

In the 8th Congressional District in Illinois there is a three way race between Democrat Incumbent Melissa Bean, Republican Candidate Joe Walsh and the Green Party’s Bill Scheurer. In a debate last week which was sponsored and moderated by the League of Women Voters a spontaneous recitation of The Pledge of Allegiance broke out, much to the dismay of moderator Kathy Tate-Bradish of the LoWV. During the opening of the event, an audience member stood up and requested that The Pledge of Allegiance be recited. Tate-Brandish said that it would not be recited because it was not on the schedule...

At a U.S. congressional candidate debate this past week, the crowd of approximately 300 in attendance drowned out the moderator's objections, not to protest over government policies or to argue some candidate's comments, but to insist upon reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Illinois' 8th Congressional District candidates had gathered at Grayslake Central High School in Grayslake, Ill., to participate in a debate moderated by Kathy Tate-Bradish of the League of Women Voters, Evanston branch. During Tate-Bradish's opening comments, an audience member stood to ask if the Pledge of Allegiance would be recited. "No, we are not," the moderator responded, "That...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M61pDT05A8 Gotta love it.

Priceless! Here is video of an Illinois crowd spontaneously rising to their feet to say the Pledge of Allegiance, even though the League of Women Voters’ Moderator had said they had no plan to do so. A man calls for a point of order to ask the moderator if they are going to say the Pledge, to which the moderator said, “No we are not.” As the moderator tried to explain why they would not be saying the Pledge – the crowd rose to their feet and began saying the Pledge! Republican Joe Walsh – candidate for Illinois’ 8th Congressional...

The phone rang and it was Ross Perot, who hasn't given an interview in years. Perot, who won 19 percent of the vote in the 1992 presidential election, making him one of the strongest third-party candidates in American history, got straight to the point. "Remember what you wrote about John McCain in the March 13, 2000, NEWSWEEK?" "Sure," I lied. "When McCain called Perot 'nuttier than a fruitcake'?" The Texas billionaire, now 77, still has some scores to settle from the Vietnam era, and his timing is exquisite. Just days before the South Carolina GOP primary, he wants me to...

"The crowd breaks into an impromptu Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of the candidates forum between 8th Congressional District (Illinois) candidates Joe Walsh, Melissa Bean and Bill Scheurer at Grayslake Central High School."

Dear Rep. Garrett, I'm a tea-partier. I like the job you are doing. But, about that pledge. Money talks, you-know-what walks. That's the rule the tea party is trying to lay down. Don't worry; As far as I'm concerned you're fine. But I'd be careful about associating TOO closely with the GOP right now. We voters know you are a solid conservative, especially on fiscal matters. We wouldn't vote for you repeatedly if it weren't so. But the GOP is a sick old doggy, as far as I'm concerned. The Pledge is just words, and probably a waste of time...

he Republican Party made a spectacular mistake in publishing their “A Pledge to America.” In an attempt to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory they have raised questions about their own party’s commitment to issues their base is most concerned with and about which they would like answers. For instance, the pledge says nothing about a fence along the US/Mexico border. It is ambiguous about worksite enforcement of immigration laws and, most important of all, it does not mention amnesty for illegal aliens. WHY??? The 2008 Republican Platform committed the Republican Party to completing a border fence, enforcing immigration...

Last week the House Republicans issued their update of the 1994 "Contract With America." They have labeled it the "Pledge To America," and it was launched to a standing ovation from House Republicans. On Friday I spoke to Representative Peter Roskam (R, Ill.) and asked a few questions about this new effort. Roskam said that the preamble of the pledge, "which is really, I think, moving," was met with a standing ovation when it was presented to all the Hose Republicans and the representative was pleased that the National Review said that the new pledge was bolder than the original...

"Democrats are already tagging the events as campaign gimmicks, which, of course, they are. But in the stunts can be seen evidence that one political party is finally taking seriously public demands for reform and change ... (and ending) irresponsible spending, oppressive taxation and regulation, harmful social policy and self-aggrandizement." Was this a hastily penned conservative response to the Pledge to America unveiled Thursday morning by House Republicans? Not exactly. It's a passage from The Sunday Republican's lead editorial Sept. 25, 1994, after Newt Gingrich's insurgent, resurgent GOP issued its Contract With America. The Contract was a specific set of...

House Republicans have been relatively successful this week at presenting a united front around their “Pledge to America,” but only through a strategic outreach campaign to lawmakers, media and outside groups, that has managed to keep deep dissatisfaction over several key issues largely under wraps. Still, interviews with Republican aides reveal that many in the GOP caucus are unhappy that there was no earmark ban and no promise to pass a balanced budget amendment in the proposal, which was unveiled Thursday by House Minority Leader John Boehner. The inclusion of a health insurance provision considered to be mandate angered many...

Since the release of the "Pledge to America," I have been thinking about what the REAL agenda should be when the Republicans take over Congress in a massive landslide in November. Here are my 7 priorities: 1) Use ALL the power of the Congress to investigate everyone and everything in the administration of the Kenyan Usurper -- starting with a subpoena demanding the birth records of Barry. That should start on DAY ONE! 2) Stop Obamacare. Shut down government if that is what it takes. And not for just a few weeks. We should be prepared for a shut-down of...

It’s just hortatory.” That’s what judges are wont to tell litigators who try to get courts to order some course of action based on the preamble of a law. The preamble is the big wind, the hot air: lawgivers covering themselves in glory, detailing the high-minded, selfless motivation that prompts them to act. Then comes the rain. That’s the consequential part, the nuts and bolts of what is to be done. It is that, and not the preamble, that matters. And it’s usually significantly more timid — as in big wind, no rain. That is the Republicans’ freshly unveiled Pledge...

It would be unbecoming for us at The Weekly -Standard​—we do have to uphold standards, after all!—to chortle with glee as the Democratic party melts down. It would be unkind to whoop at the top of our lungs as Obama White House big shots quit or get fired, and to cheer with gusto as the GOP leadership behaves sensibly, the Tea Party goes from strength to strength, and momentum builds towards a huge Election Day repudiation of big government liberalism.

The Republicans just rolled out their "Pledge to America" that will supposedly fix America's financial and debt crisis. But it won't! Because it just calls for tax cuts -- with no real reduction in spending! We thought Republicans were supposed to be the TOUGH party, the folks who could make the hard decisions. But this "Pledge To America" is WIMPY WIMPY WIMPY! Grow a pair, Republicans! SAY what you're actually going to cut!

America is more than a country. America is an idea – an idea that free people can govern themselves, that government’s powers are derived from the consent of the governed, that each of us is endowed by their Creator with the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. America is the belief that any man or woman can – given economic, political, and religious liberty – advance themselves, their families, and the common good. America is an inspiration to those who yearn to be free and have the ability and the dignity to determine their own destiny....

What if....--------------------------------------------- Dear America, I write to you today to urge you to reject the Republican's Pledge for America. First off, whats this "for America" garbage? That's not very self-aggrandizing...is it? What gives? Where's the self worship? Did they not learn anything from me? I put the ME in Amercia! There's also no personality behind it. For crying out loud I made women swoon for CHANGE (they didn't know I actually meant bus fare, but whatever). That said here are a few reasons you need to reject the Pledge for America. First off, it's only 21 pages long, how...