Free Republic

I hate to say, I told you so, to doubters, but it's beginning to look increasingly like the Internet will not translate to victory for Dean, or any other candidate for that matter, in this election. As I pointed out in a January 11 post on my site, the Internet-as-secret-campaign-weapon theory is looking more each day like a myth on par with the dot com, you-can't-lose-with-the-Internet myth of the late 90's. Certainly, its a great new way to raise campaign funds, especially for Democrats. In recent elections, Democratic candidates have become far too dependent on campaign donations from a small...

Politics & Punditry On The InternetCan the blogosphere really alter the tides of political campaigns? After Howard Dean's meteoric rise from the bottom of the Democratic presidential hopeful pack to its undisputed front-runner, the blogging community supporting his campaign was given a significant amount of credit for Dean's success. Alexis Rice of Johns Hopkins states in his White Paper, The Use of Blogs in The 2004 Presidential Election that "Blogs have already become a power tool in the Democratic presidential nomination battle." Rice goes on to say that "the leading candidate in the blogging revolution is former Vermont Gov. Howard...

Chronicling the continuing disintegration of the Democratic Party has been interesting. As I've said in the past, you never know whats going to happen to them next. Well, last Monday, the front running Democratic presidential nominee, Howard Say Anything Dean came out with this whopper: "The truth is, Americans are no safer from these serious threats than they were the day before Saddam Hussein was captured,” he said. “We are no safer today than the day the planes struck the World Trade Center." Okay, so Dean is saying that over two years later, after two wars, countless raids, the arrest...

Today, Ryan Lizza was quoted by Opinionjournal.com as saying that “the Democrats are splitting into two parties: the party of Clinton, and the party of Dean.” This was something Ms. Lizza wrote last month! A very impressive bit of insight into the Democratic Party’s growing troubles. At the same time, I think we’ve all been missing, or overlooking, a central reason where this whole schizm started in the first place. The fact is, one of Clinton’s field generals is responsible for sparking this internal civil war, and his name is Terry McAuliffe. The tactics that Dean uses have always been...

I think every so-called "Islamic Scholar" and fundamentalist opposed to the overthrow of Saddam and the establishment of Democratic government in Iraq should be asked this one question: Which version of Iraq do you fear more; one which, under Saddam Hussein, Islam, as well as every other religion, was actively oppressed OR one in which there is free Democratic government and freedom of religion, including Christianity?My guess is that most of these folks would decline to answer the question, but the answer would be obvious I think to anyone who heard the question... Islamic fundamentalists are deathly afraid of the...

On September 11, 2001, a clear and beautiful day, trying times returned to the shores of these United States. For as long as live I’ll remember the fear of that day, watching in disbelief as thousands of innocent people were ruthlessly slaughtered and two of the best known buildings in the world, the Twin Towers, crumbled to dust in what seemed to be the blink of an eye. As I watched the carnage unfold on television, one clear thought emerged from all the chaotic thoughts and questions spinning wildly in my brain; “this is war,” I thought. “Someone has just...

THE KING IS DEAD The “I feel your pain” President is gone and it seems now that his legacy of electoral success is irrecoverable. Perhaps he pushed the envelope just one too many times, or maybe the former President’s brand of politics just cannot be properly wielded by anyone but Bill Clinton himself. Like Excalibur to Arthur, so are Clinton and his ability to create controversy and dodge the consequences. Its clear to me that Excalibur will not be wielded by anyone other than the former King himself. Furthermore, the wielding of this weapon seems to have harmed Clinton's party...

Senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) weighed in yesterday on the President’s 87 Billion dollar budget request by stating his refusal to support the package. Calling the administration’s Iraq policy a failure, he commented that the only way to force the President to change is if “someone stands up to him and says ‘no.’” Ironically, even before Edwards took a stance against a request to fund the peace in Iraq, a widely-ignored report by Paul Bremer, Iraq’s Coalition Provisional Authority Administrator, presented a report that had this to say regarding the progress being made in Iraq after only six months: -> The...

BEFORE THE TOP 10 LIST - A STATEMENT REGARDING RUSH LIMBAUGH Yesterday, October 10, 2003, was the day that we all heard the sad truth of Rush’s addiction to prescription pain medication. Of course, rumors have been rampant for a week now, ever since the story appeared in the National Enquirer. The flames were fanned when Rush, rather than denying the story, commented on the air that he would respond only after the legal ramifications were understood. At that point, many of us who have been his loyal listeners over the past 15 years knew that at least part of...

Do you hear that sound? Its coming from your TV, your radio, and your daily newspaper. It’s the sound of liberals everywhere who are in high gear, attempting to spin the events of the past few days. I can only imagine the planning that went on behind closed doors this past weekend. The liberal politicos and media elites trying to come up with an angle, just in case, to sell to all of us non-Californians as to why the citizens of that state turned out in historic numbers to remove their current Governor and replace him with a so-called “political...

DEMOCRATS PEAK, THEN BEGIN A LONG SLIDE In 1992, shortly after Bill Clinton's stunning victory over incumbent George Bush gave Democrats control of the House, Senate, and White House, it seemed as if the Democratic Party had entered a new golden age of power and influence. As golden ages go, theirs was relatively short-lived. Just two years later, Democrats were tossed out of the House and Senate in record numbers, and Republicans took control. Shortly after, Republicans also won a majority of governorships in the US. Then, in 2000, George W. Bush defeated then V.P. Al Gore to become the...

How desperate are Democrats? VERY! Almost a year ago, it was just anger at the loss of yet more seats in the House, as well as the unimaginable and historic loss of seats in the Senate, giving all three houses of government back to Republicans. The absolute worst part about the loss being, of course, the fact that President Bush was the deciding factor in the 2002 mid-term election cycle. The President took a sizable risk, one that no other President had taken before, and went out to actively campaign in key races. His support, and the use of his...

Dick Gephardt's disgraceful rhetoric underscores perfectly why Washington politicians rarely become Presidents. As Retired General H. Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on 9/11, has said, "Sometimes people in a position of power lose perspective on right and wrong." Unfortunately, Congressman Gephardt is one of those who has lost perspective on right vs. wrong. He is so intent on winning the Democratic primary, that he has forgotten the effect his words have, not just on those serving overseas, but on our enemies as well. It is one thing for the Congressman to disagree with President Bush's stance...

What should a political party do to minimize debate on the part of their constituents over real issues and simply pre-program voters to think and act a certain way? Well, first thing, control education at the national level where you can teach kids WHAT to think instead of HOW to think. Secondarily, feed your constituents a series of one-line bumper sticker slogans which sound great but have about as much real meat as your average soy-burger. Can there be any doubt that liberals are the masters of this art? Personally, I have, for a long time now, been very wary...

What is the definition of Irony? How about this; Democrats in the Senate vote in a nearly united fashion to give President Bush the authorization to go to war against Iraq, then, soon after, begin a litany of anti-war rhetoric. Okay, that sounds more like contradiction than irony, a norm for Dems, but I’m not quite finished yet. What if that anti-war rhetoric bolstered Saddam Hussein’s courage to stand up against President Bush, thus assuring the inevitability of war? Would you consider that Ironic? Even better is when, after stabbing the President in the back, politically speaking, the Minority Leader...

Do you really think that Clark will enter into the Democratic primary and just step aside for someone who is even less proven than Bill Clinton was in 1992? In my opinion... not a chance! But, there are likely scenarios that go beyond the normal theories I've yet heard regarding the making of a Hillary Clinton presidency. How about this... Clinton in 2012! How could that happen? Very simply... Hillary could become Clark's running mate in 2004, rather than a presidential contender herself. Why is this a sound strategy for Hillary? A couple of reasons, the first being that it's...