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A leading House Democrat said Friday John McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is a "risky" move that could ultimately prove disastrous to the Republican prospects in November. Meanwhile, a top Senate Democrat said the pick is a "Hail Mary pass" and a "roll of the dice," in what is the initial reactions from McCain's rival party. Speaking to South Carolina ETV Radio, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn likened the choice of Palin to Walter Mondale's choice of Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and George H.W. Bush's pick of Dan Quayle in 1988. Both picks — relatively unknown political figures...

CNN’s John Roberts, after briefly alluding to the issue of Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s experience he called into question earlier on Friday’s "Newsroom" program, asked correspondent Dana Bash about how the Alaska governor’s newborn son with Down’s syndrome might be affected if she were elected: "There's also this issue that on April 18th, she gave birth to a baby with Down's Syndrome.... Children with Down's syndrome require an awful lot of attention. The role of Vice President, it seems to me, would take up an awful lot of her time, and it raises the issue of how much time...

Gov. Sarah Palin / Sen. John McCain Dayton, Aug 29, 2008 / 12:55 pm (CNA).- Sen. John McCain’s pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin won praise from many commentators within the ambit of the Republican Party, but especially among pro-lifers. Praising Palin as “strongly pro-life,” speakers remarked that Palin’s decision to carry her Down’s syndrome child to term was an especially sharp contrast with Sen. Barack Obama’s opposition to legislation that would protect infants who survive abortions.Sen. McCain announced the choice of Palin at a rally in Dayton, Ohio on Friday. McCain introduced her as someone "who can best...

With reports circulating this morning that John McCain will pick dark horse Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, top Palm Beach County Republicans were quick to praise the apparent choice. "Senator John McCain has made a great pick in Governor Sarah Palin." Gov. Charlie Crist said today. "She has demonstrated tremendous leadership as the chief executive of her state, working to bring Republicans and Democrats together to do what's right. I congratulate both Senator McCain and Governor Palin on this historic choice for our people." Boca Raton GOP conservative activist Jack Furnari, who said he has been a...

Though it was high in shock value, the Palin pick left bruised feelings among the short-list contenders who were not picked -- and infuriated some Republican officials who privately said McCain had gone out on a limb, unnecessarily, without laying the groundwork for such an unknown. Two senior Republican officials close to Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty said they had both been rudely strung along and now "feel manipulated." "They now know that they were used as decoys, well after McCain had decided not to pick them," one Republican involved in the process said. Democrats quickly absorbed the Obama talking...

Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice President to be, this convention, my fellow citizens of this great nation: With a deep awareness of the responsibility conferred by your trust, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States. I do so with deep gratitude, and I think also I might interject on behalf of all of us, our thanks to Detroit and the people of Michigan and to this city for the warm hospitality they have shown. And I thank you for your wholehearted response to my recommendation in regard to George Bush as a candidate for vice president. I...

AUGUSTA, Maine – The Fed Up With Taxes/YES on 1 coalition aired its first television ad last night during the Democratic National Convention. The 30 second ad features Gary Emmons, a small businessman and owner of Exit 26 Quik Stop in Richmond.

Monday, August 25, 2008 GOP VEEP CHOICE: RECONSIDERING KAY Posted by: Michael Medved at 2:28 AM Most importantly, her conservative credentials are solid – and far more consistent than either Romney’s or Pawlenty’s. The American Conservative Union gives her a lifetime rating of 90.27, and a 2007 rating of 88—placing her among the more conservative Republicans in the Senate. On abortion, she’s always called herself “Pro Life” and NARAL Pro-Choice America—the leading pro-abortion lobbying group – has given her ratings of mostly 0% (like McCain) and never higher than 20%. She worked for a while as a legal correspondent for...

Why Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican By Frances Rice It should come as no surprise that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican. In that era, almost all black Americans were Republicans. Why? From its founding in 1854 as the anti-slavery party until today, the Republican Party has championed freedom and civil rights for blacks. And as one pundit so succinctly stated, the Democrat Party is as it always has been, the party of the four S's: Slavery, Secession, Segregation and now Socialism. It was the Democrats who fought to keep blacks in slavery and passed the...

The wild rumor last week was that Republican Sen. John McCain has decided on tapping Independent-Democrat Sen. Joe Lieberman as his vice-presidential nominee. If so, that would mean that 3.5 out of four persons running for the top two political positions in our country are full-fledged Democrats. Most Republicans think McCain is half-Democrat, thus the .5 percentage point was added. Just when McCain was beginning to lead in the polls against Barack Obama, the rumor mill started that Lieberman was his favorite pick for the presidential ticket. Hasn’t Lieberman been there and done that? Isn’t the fact he was the...

For a guy who is supposed to be the one we have been waiting for, Barack Obama’s decisions sure look similar to those of the ones we had before. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-DE, is not a bad choice for Obama’s running mate, as Democrats go. If you had to have a Democratic administration, you wouldn’t lose sleep worrying about Biden handling world affairs or carrying around the nuclear football. If we found ourselves in that situation – and multiple God-forbids apply here – he’d be OK. But in the here and now, he is also a painstakingly conventional choice, which...

We have become a nation of onlookers. We have our news programming interrupted with alerts of high speed chases on interstates. We salivated when we watched OJ's car going ever so slowly on the southern California freeway. We watch President Bush's motorcade when it's going somewhere. We don't really know which vehicle he's in because there's an entourage of big black SUVs. And now, all the presidential candidates have picked up that color scheme. It's a ploy, folks! They think it makes them look presidential, therefore get more votes. Not when empty suits and (as one Freeper said this morning)...

I’m a hustler baby, I’m a hustlerI just want you to know, wanna let you knowIt ain’t where I been, it ain’t where I beenBut where I’m ’bout to go, top of the world!—Jay Z The race hustlers can almost taste it now—Obama at the top of the world. And now Spike Lee, Maxine Waters, Jeremiah Wright, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, et al. are joined by a new hustler-wannabe—Howard Dean. Yes, the Dean of scream. Yaaaaaaaaaaah! Whether he made a Freudian slip or not last week, Dean reminded me of the pathetic, race-confused “Raji” as played by Vince Vaughn in the...

RNC stage: More on GOP Convention Podium DNC stage: More on DNC Denver Podium

AUGUSTA (Aug 20): A veto of taxes on beer, wine, soda and health insurance passed at the end of the legislative session to fund the state’s subsidized insurance plan known as DirigoChoice will appear on the November ballot after the Secretary of State’s Office on Monday certified 72,432 signatures on a petition calling for the referendum.

A third complaint has been filed by a former employee of U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan's car dealership, Sarasota Ford, claiming the company employed at least eight illegal immigrants. Richard Thomas, a former director of fixed operations at Sarasota Ford, alleges in a lawsuit filed in Sarasota County Circuit Court that Buchanan had illegal immigrants working both at his dealership and at the congressman's home. "Buchanan had imported them to do work on his house, specifically the rock work and the floors," the lawsuit states. "He provided them sleeping quarters in the office beside the store."

New taxes on beverages and health care claims to be on November 4 ballot. AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine people will have the last word on $75 million of new taxes on beverages and health care claims, now that the Secretary of State today certified that the Fed Up With Taxes/YES on 1 coalition submitted more than enough signatures to put the issue to a statewide vote on November 4.

The Moronic PartyFirst Published 2008-08-12 Republicans are interested in prevailing over the ‘bad guys.’ The fact that the bad guys are Bush, Cheney, Rice, Wolfowitz, Perle, Billy Kristol, and other such is beyond the Republicans’ imagination, notes Paul Craig Roberts. Many years ago, during the 1970s if memory serves, neoconservative Irving Kristol, echoing John Stuart Mill, called his conservative party, the Republican Party, “the stupid party.” Kristol was referring to the Republican’s inability to compete on the policy front. Jack Kemp and Ronald Reagan led the Republicans out of the wilderness, but now Republicans have reverted to the stupid party,...

Campaign Cash Flows to Pelosi’s Republican Opponent Despite Difficult OddsRunning against Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her home district in San Francisco is as close to a political suicide mission as a Republican can undertake — but unlike her underfunded predecessors, GOP nominee Dana Walsh won’t lack for money.Walsh, an interior designer and member of the San Francisco GOP central committee, had raised $363,871 as of June 30, according to CQ MoneyLine. Her campaign had $45,168 on hand, with the report showing that most of the money raised went toward the cost of setting up a national direct-mail fundraising operation.Her...

LTC West is challenging the one-term Democrat Rep. Ron Klein in the 22nd Congressional District in Florida. This is a good opportunity for Republicans to regain a Congressional seat lost to the Democrats in 2006. What first attracts people to LTC West is his impressive 22 year record in the Army and proven leadership skills, but what keeps one glued to their seat in his presence is his enthusiasm and reasoned advocacy for Republican principles and Party advancement. Please sign the Petition requesting that LTC West speak at the Republican National Convention September 1-4, 2008 in St. Paul Indianapolis. I...

Their slogan is “Go West” and their enthusiasm is high-level. Retired Army Colonel and decorated war hero Allen West is poised to return Congressional District 22 in Florida to the side of the Republicans. His positions are clear and his motives are genuine. “I want to continue to serve my country. As an Officer in the Army I took an oath to abide by the U.S. Constitution. I will continue that devotion in Congress,” said LTC West while visiting Young Republicans and friends at the Soldiers’, Sailors’, Marines’, & Airman’s Club in New York City on August 4, 2008.

Scott and John do most of the original reporting on Power Line, but once in while I get my hands on something big. Rarely have I come up with anything bigger than this confidential memorandum from the chief of an unnamed news network regarding how his organization will cover the Republican National Convention. Here's the memo in its entirety: From: XXXXXXX XXXXX, III To: YYY's Republican Convention Coverage Team Re: Fair and balanced coverage We all know that network news coverage of national conventions has come in for severe criticism in recent years. While no one expects gavel-to-gavel coverage anymore,...

Oily Congress by: Rachel Paulk, August 05, 2008 Following the U.S. House of Representative’s largely partisan vote for adjournment Friday, Republican Congressmen remained on the floor all day in a response to Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to vote on the “American Energy Act”—a bill addressing the energy crisis facing Americans today. Republican congressmen are now staging sit-ins reminiscent of the hippy protests of Vietnam—except instead of flower children holding “make love, not war” signs, these weathered politicians have gathered to rail against the Democrats’ refusal to address the energy crisis. Both the minority leader John Boehnor (R-OH) and party...

At age 64, well into her retirement from the Army, Frances Rice is at the center of a contentious campaign on race and politics -- and she has never been happier. Frances Rice, 64, grew up in Atlanta. She says growing up in poverty and segregation set her against the Democratic Party. Now, as she works to bring blacks to the ranks of the GOP, she says she feels that she is making a difference in politics. But her tactics are not winning everyone over. The leader of the Sarasota-based National Black Republican Association is a minority within a minority....

If you are not yet alarmed and outraged by radical Republican John McCain’s “bipartisan” campaign finance “reform” package, which is in no way bipartisan, Monday’s revelation from the American Conservative Union Foundation (ACU) should put an end to your complacency. In its latest report, “Who’s Buying Campaign Finance Reform?” (1) the ACU unveils the secret that some conservatives have suspected all along: The campaign finance reform ‘movement’ has, contrary to its anti-big money agenda, raised and spent more than $73 million since 1996; has, contrary to its bipartisan claims, been funded by “wealthy Democratic Party soft-money donors, ultra-liberal foundations and...

Supporters of the new Dirigo taxes on soda, beer, wine and health care services have gone on the offensive. In an attempt to frighten and manipulate Maine voters, they have resorted to outrageous claims of dire consequences to Dirigo and our entire health care system should the new Dirigo taxes be repealed in November by a people's veto.

South Texas political legend Anne Legendre Armstrong, 80, died of cancer in a Houston hospice early this morning, her office has confirmed. Armstrong, a former U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain and sitting Kenedy County Commissioner, played a conquering role in Republican politics as a national leader of the party, serving as a cabinet-level adviser to Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford and an adviser to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush on foreign intelligence. As news of her death spread among close friends and political associates Wednesday morning, Vice President Dick Cheney, a regular visitor to the Armstrong Ranch...

JUST WHO IS KIERAN MICHAEL LALOR? For information on the Reagan-conservative Republican candidate for Congress from the 19th Congressional District (N.Y.) please see: http://www.kml2008.com/home.htm. Lalor is running in that formerly-Republican district to unseat one-term Democrat, Rep. John Hall, former rocker and current lock-stepper for Nancy Pelosi; he has voted 100% along Pelosi-Party lines. (For info on the real John Hall, see http://www.therealdemocratstory.com/john.hall/) Lalor fought a long tough battle to gain the Republican nomination and now faces a long tough battle to topple the usurper, Hall, who has Hollywood’s elite in his corner but whose votes and philosophy do not represent...

It appears that conservatives find themselves constantly wondering if John McCain cares about their vote at all. They feel taken for granted, as McCain seems to be continually treading the left edge of the right wing. But perhaps we have to ask ourselves, is he really taking us for granted, or are his opinions simply different than those of the traditional conservative? Maybe it’s not so much that he’s taking us for granted. It’s that he doesn’t really care what we think. Here’s the thing about politics. Every time a candidate does or says anything, he knows it will be...

National Black Republican Association In her article, "A Covenant With Life: Reclaiming MLK’s Legacy", MLK's niece, Dr. Alveda C. King, affirms that her uncle Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican   This appears in a Priests for Life Fall/Winter 2008 publication, linked as above from the NBRA website.A Covenant With Life:Reclaiming MLK’s LegacyBy Dr. Alveda C. King – Niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.America has entered into a covenant or a culture of death.  May God have mercy, and restore us to a covenant of life!<snip>"My grandfather, Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr., or “Daddy King”, was a...

Jul 21st, 2008 The RNC agrees to remove the Republican Elephant from CafePress’ Endangered Species List - Grand Old Party Ensues! Some of you may have seen some of the media coverage (maybe here, here, or here) regarding the Republican National Committee’s recent complaints about our shopkeepers’ use of the terms “GOP,” “Grand Old Party,” “Republican National Committee,” “RNC,” and various elephant designs. To sum it up: back in February, the RNC demanded that CafePress “cease and desist from allowing vendors to utilize the federally registered trademarks of the RNC” and threatened legal action. While we’re open to working...

Yes, it’s tough being a conservative voter these days. But the truth is it’s always been. Think about it. There have been 232 years of U.S. history. In how many of them could you have shared a conservative principle such as the one that follows with big shot politicians, bureaucrats, and judges and received a truly honest, deeply committed handshake of agreement in return? “I believe Jefferson was entirely correct when he observed that ‘the people themselves . . . are the safest depository of [political power].’ I also believe that because Jefferson condemned judges who practice ‘on the Constitution...

Please Freep this poll. Of the 12 candidates listed for County Commissioner, only the first is a Republican. Help by voting for Bob Ott. ottforcommissioner.com

Here is the soon to be famous Republican Song video "Please Don't Vote for A Democrat". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gINGgf-IsDE 

The total savings will amount to over $16 million dollars. Click "full story" to see the full list of the items vetoed. Monday, July 14, 2008 (From a press release) - Today, Governor Bobby Jindal announced that he has line item vetoed 258 items in the state’s operating budget for FY 2008-2009 (HB 1), accounting for more than $16.14 million in non-governmental and governmental projects. Governor Jindal’s 258 vetoes in HB1are more than double the vetoes for all the state’s previous 12 budgets combined. Previously, Governor Kathleen Blanco had 39 line item vetoes in her house budget bills during her...

I was reading an article yeaterday of how Roger Staubach was selling his real estate company for around 600 million. He was pocketing around 87 million of that. It got me thinking if he could be on McCain's list for VP. I think it would be a great pick and throw everyone for a loop. He is an ex Navy officer, Superbowl Champion, very successful business man and according to every account of him he's smart but also savy. I originally was wondering if he might be thinking about the Governors mansion but the VP slot would be pretty great...

PHOENIX, Ariz. (Legal Newsline) -An attorney best known for his role in the impeachment trial of U.S. President Bill Clinton has been hired by the Arizona state Legislature to defend its position that it spends enough money to teach English learner students. Attorney Ken Starr could represent state lawmakers before the U.S. Supreme Court to try to convince the high court that lower courts erred in ruling that provisions of a 2006 law aimed at complying with federal education laws are illegal.

Why has Republicanism failed? Republicanism has failed and will fail because of single of idea which America under President Bush has become fixated upon. The new idea and hegemony of Bush and America is the realization of freedom. It has been American’s claim to an absolute idea predicated on the absolute strength of such an idea in the world for other regimes to become and emulate. Is not” You are either with us or against us” a favorite slogan of this moment in history?

I felt the following quote requires some further commentary… "I'm confused as to why any African American would be a Republican in this day and age." — Robin Wright-Jones, (D) Missouri State Representative With all due respect to Representative Wright-Jones, I can't understand why more blacks haven't jumped the Democrat ship. Granted, with decades of vilification, I can understand why people decide to avoid the public ridicule one would be exposed to as a black Republican. While many, including former Washington D.C. mayor Marion Barry, mistakenly believe (for example) President Lincoln was a Democrat, the belief that Democrats are the...

John McCain has several objectives when it comes to his vice presidential choice. He must address the age issue, most likely choosing someone younger than himself, while also giving baby boomers and even younger voters a contemporary on the ticket. He must choose someone who garners the support of the conservative movement, which McCain himself has long had trouble doing. Secondary considerations include geography, as well as demographic and biographical factors. Here are the top 15 candidates, along with their pros and cons and odds of being picked. For my thoughts on the Democratic veepstakes, see my column of May...

Syndicated columnist Bob Novak, writing about the surprising number of conservatives who are backing Democrat Barack Obama rather than Republican John McCain for the presidency, captured their widespread sentiment when he quoted one "Obamacon" with impeccable GOP credentials: "The Republican Party is a dead rotting carcass with a few decrepit old leaders stumbling around like zombies in a horror version of 'Weekend at Bernie,' handcuffed to a corpse." These Obama supporters hold no illusions about Obama's liberalism, but they are so angry at the GOP, Novak writes, that they seek a "therapeutic electoral bloodbath." Thomas Jefferson argued that "The tree...

“ A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever,” John Adams. As we move into another election year, the term Revolutionary Republicanism comes to mind. This political mindset separated America from the rest of the world before, during, and after the Revolutionary War. There was boldness unmatched throughout history to create the most powerful Republic on earth through this new political philosophy.

Republicans are saying Democratic strategist Paul Begala went “over the line” when, in a fundraising appeal, he called the attendees of a GOP fundraiser “dirtbags.” Begala, who worked for Bill Clinton in the White House, discussed the annual Republican President’s Dinner in an e-mail to supporters that seeks to raise funds for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). “You should have seen the joint: wall to wall fat-cats. The limos were lined up around the block. If you’d stood in the middle of the ballroom and yelled, ‘Hey dirtbag!’ a thousand necks would have snapped around,” Begala wrote. The strategist...

Friendswood physician Robin Armstrong, a former medical missionary in Africa, recently was re-elected vice chairman of the Texas Republican Party, the only black person to serve in one of the state party's top two positions during the 20th and 21st centuries. Q: Affirmative action, what about that? A: I don't think it's a policy that's really necessary, and I think Barack Obama is a good example of that. People generally want to be helpful to minorities and want to see them succeed on their own. Sure, racism is out there, but I don't think that is the majority of people...

RNC can swing a bat better than you There's some gloating going on in the RNC today. And not for reasons you'd think. Last night the RNC beat the DNC in their annual softball game, 20-6. Ouch.

Washington DC, Jun 25, 2008 / 01:23 am (CNA).- A new survey from Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) indicates that Catholics may lean towards voting for the Democratic candidate for president in the 2008 election.The CARA polling shows that only 21 percent of all Catholics are either strongly or weakly affiliated with the Republican Party in 2008, compared to 31 percent in 2004. Fewer Catholics identify themselves as Republicans than in any year since 2000.Among all adult Catholics, 38 percent identify as a weak or strong Democrat, while 22 percent lean Democratic. Republicans are...

Oh my, I do believe we're starting to get evidence that Barack Obama's definition of "change" is painfully synonymous with "politics as usual." Recently, in an apparent effort to move to the political center, Obama's had some convenient changes of heart. He's rejected public financing for his general election campaign, despite previously and frequently promising he wouldn't. Obama has decided to support the new FISA bill, which is certainly playing againt his Most-Lefty-U.S.-Senator type. BUt thankfully, there's one Democrat/lefty principle Obama would never betray - crying "Racism!" without justification: "We know what kind of campaign [the REpublicans are] going to...

One of the greatest challenges facing Senator John McCain (R-AZ) in his quest to become the next president is shoring up the support of his own party. How best to do that is subject to much debate, but one thing that both supporters and detractors of Mr. McCain agree upon is the need for him to do so. In a recent FOX News/Opinion Dynamics poll, it was revealed that only 81 percent of Republicans support their party’s nominee, as noted by Fred Barnes on FNC’s Special Report. This contrasts sharply with President Bush’s performance in 2004, where he garnered 94...

The UN Human Rights Council said the UK must "consider holding a referendum on the desirability or otherwise of a written constitution, preferably republican". The council has 29 members including Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Sri Lanka. It was the Sri Lankan envoy who raised concerns over the British monarchy. The resulting report said Britain should have a referendum on the monarchy and the need for a written constitution with a bill of rights.

Byline: Liljenquist has Establishment backing, while Mortensen relies on a handful of volunteers In the Senate District 23 Republican primary, it's a case of big bucks squaring off against loose change. Republicans Dan Liljenquist, 33, and Ron Mortensen, 63, are competing to gain the south Davis County senate seat being vacated by Dan Eastman, who is not seeking a third term. "They're exercising the nuclear option," Mortensen said of Liljenquist's well-fueled campaign that has fired off several mailers, the most recent with endorsements that read like a list of who's who in the county's Republican power structure. According to campaign...