"A wise and frugal government which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government." (Thomas Jefferson)
Since receiving the link to this article in my email from a good friend, I have been chuckling. Ron Paul decided to release an ad going after Perry for being Al Gore's campaign chair in Texas in 1988 when Perry was a Democrat and Al Gore was a lot more conservative. In fact, some thought Gore was too conservative for a Bill Clinton ticket. Clinton and the Democrats didn't need to worry as Gore went farther and farther left after 1992.
Americans are discovering the Ron Paul so many Texans have known. Most don't realize that he quit the Republican Party and became a Libertarian. Couldn't get elected as a Libertarian so he went back to the Republican Party and has been a thorn in the side of Republicans ever since on many issues. What I didn't know is he wrote a letter attacking President Reagan when he quit the Republican Party giving his reasons as Reagan and Republican spending drove him out. All these years and that letter was still around to be found. This quote from the Washington Examiner article is priceless:
You can't accuse Ron Paul of being inconsistent. At least you couldn't, but then he ran an advertisement reminding voters of his support for Reagan. To paraphrase Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., Paul voted for Reagan before he voted against him.
OUCH! Summed it up right there and threw Paul's credibility out the window at the same time. He lied about supporting Reagan -- who would have thought? Many people will say Reagan being President is what made them become Republican but Ron Paul can say that Reagan made him become a Libertarian. What do the Paulbots have to say now as they spin this one?
Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, should give his opposition researchers a raise. In response to an ad from Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, that attacks Perry for supporting a 1988 Al Gore presidential run while reminding voters of Paul's support for Reagan, the Perry campaign dropped this bomb: a year before Perry supported Gore as a conservative Democrat, Paul wrote a letter of resignation from the Republican Party that protested President Reagan's policies.
In fact, Paul went so far as to write that “there is no credibility left for the Republican Party as a force to reduce the size of government. That is the message of the Reagan years.”
In the letter, Paul makes a series of attacks on Reagan's agenda. In Paul's defense, those criticism align with his current policy positions:
"Ronald Reagan and the Republican Party have given us skyrocketing deficits, and astoundingly a doubled national debt."
Of course, Paul is attacking President Obama for the same reasons today. He has been rock solid in his belief that the federal government is too big and spending too much, and that Republicans and Democrats have caused that problem for decades. But now he's in the position of explaining how, despite Republican primary voters opinion to the contrary, he thinks that Reagan and Obama are alike.
Paul will have an especially difficult time explaining why he thought that President Reagan's military policies produced "the inevitable result that we are less secure today." "Today," in the letter, being four years before the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Empire collapsed inward on itself. As the letter concluded, Paul wrote:
I want to totally disassociate myself from the policies that have given us unprecedented deficits, massive monetary inflation, indiscriminate military spending, an irrational and unconstitutional foreign policy, zooming foreign aid, the exaltation of international banking, and the attack on our personal liberties and privacy.
Looks like Rick Perry's opponents forget that the Perry campaign group has been together for a long time and in Texas the races for office are no holds barred with everything thrown at the candidates. It is not a shake hands and let's be friends -- it is rough and tumble politics at its finest. Some of the most interesting campaigns I have witnessed were when we first lived in Texas and then following them from here in Oklahoma.
Already thought the Al Gore deal was funny which is one of the talking points the opposition loves to use against Perry, but must admit compared to the anti-southern, cheesy, poorly done Michele Bachmann ad with outright lies, this one is the winner so far. Waiting for the Romney one next.
Ron Paul being outed for leaving the Republican Party in 1987 because of President Reagan made my day! He should know better as a Texan about the people Perry surrounds himself with -- they are smart, resourceful, and are very loyal to the Governor. If there is something they can find that will debunk a negative ad, you can bet they will discover and use that info. This campaign is going to be fun to watch. Wonder what Obama is thinking as the Republican opposition is using what they were going to throw against Perry?
There have been 3.6 million acres burned which is the size of the state of CT since fire season started in December 2010. Where is the FULL Federal Disaster Declaration from President Obama? Why is Obama playing politics with the fires in Texas when he declared the eight blue states of the East Coast Disaster areas before a Category I hurricane even hit so they had FEMA on the ground immediately. FEMA is just arriving in Texas this morning. Where have they been? Obama is slower to react with the Texas fires than what happened with Katrina. If it wasn't the fact that Texas is so well prepared and willing to help each other, they would have been in real trouble.
In the past seven days Texas Forest Service has responded to 181 fires that have burned more than 118,400 acres, including new fires in Bastrop, Travis, Henderson, Limestone, Caldwell, Colorado, Montgomery and Grimes counties, among others. TFS also continues to battle existing wildfires, including major fires in Palo Pinto, Briscoe, Coryell and Montague counties. Since the beginning of wildfire season, local and state firefighters have responded to more than 20,900 fires that have destroyed more than 1,000 homes and burned more than 3.6 million acres. Gov. Perry has reissued his disaster proclamation nine times this wildfire season; it was originally issued on Dec. 21, 2010.
In addition to the state proclamations in April, the governor sent a letter to President Obama requesting a Major Disaster Declaration, which would have made the state eligible for Direct Federal Assistance and Emergency Protective Measures from the federal government. The Obama Administration denied this request on May 3. Gov. Perry appealed the president's decision on May 26, and received partial approval of relief on July 1. A request to expand the scope of federal relief is still pending.
Read the bold of the above paragraph and see how Obama could care less about Texas. Guess the DC bureaucrats do not seem to think that all these wildfires are a true disaster. Why haven't members of the media taken Obama to task on the Texas wildfire lack of response like they did Bush on Katrina? With Obama it has been months and Bush it was a few days. Fortunately under Governor Perry Texas has the best prepared Emergency Disaster people in the Country of any state. He reveals near the end of the press conference that it is a bureaucratic nightmare to get DoD resources to use to fight fires as they could use the heavy equipment of the DoD right now.
This is a very good press conference and very revealing about the lack of support from the Federal Government.
Gov. Perry Takes Aerial Tour of Wildfire Damage in Central TexasUrges Texans to heed all warnings from local officials
Tuesday, September 06, 2011 • Austin, Texas • Press Release
Gov. Rick Perry took an aerial tour of wildfire damage in the Steiner Ranch community west of Austin, and met with emergency management and local officials who have been battling fires in the area. The governor continued to urge all Texans to closely monitor conditions and reports, and heed all warnings from local officials as extremely dry and windy conditions are expected to continue fueling wildfires that continue raging across the state.
"These fires are serious and widespread, and as mean as I have ever seen, burning more than 1,000 homes since this wildfire season began," Gov. Perry said. "Texas appreciates the resources and support we continue to receive from across the state and across the country to fight these fires, and the efforts of the brave men and women who put themselves in harm's way to protect Texans' lives and property. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are impacted by these fires."
"Our primary focus is on safety and protecting lives, and Texans need to heed all warnings, especially evacuation warnings from local officials," Texas Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said. "The Texas Division of Emergency Management is actively supporting local firefighting efforts across the state, and we will continue to provide all necessary assistance."
State resources assisting with wildfire response include:
• Texas Forest Service personnel and aviation assets, including 15 single-engine air tankers, 12 helicopters and 13 aerial supervision aircraft assets deployed to multiple fires;
• Texas Military Forces, with 2 CH-47 Chinook Aircraft and 3 UH-60 Blackhawks assisting with fires in Bastrop County, 1 UH-60 Blackhawk staged in Austin to fight central Texas fires, 2 UH-60 Blackhawks assisting with the fires in Colorado County, and 3 ground wildfire support packages consisting of 4 dozers and 16 personnel each;
• Texas Department of Public Safety emergency management personnel, highway patrol troopers, air assets and a mobile communications center deployed to Bastrop County;
• Texas Department of Transportation is providing personnel, equipment and fuel to responders;
Additionally, the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS), a network of Texas fire departments willing to provide emergency resources to neighboring communities during the threat of disaster, is activated. TIFMAS resources deployed in Central Texas include 18 command vehicles, 72 fire engines and 121 personnel.
Excerpt: Read More at Office of the Governor to view the proclamations and actions taken by the Governor and lack of action by Obama!
This is one nasty wildfire burning about 30 miles southeast of Austin that started just east of Bastrop. The winds have been blowing heavily from the north for the last few days. Hope they are getting the break in the Bastrop area that we are getting in Oklahoma today from the winds dying down. This is why Governor Perry returned from South Carolina yesterday before the DeMint debate. He was told this Bastrop fire just miles from Austin was totally out of control and burning up houses and acreage at a fast pace. All it would have taken was a windshift and those fires would have been aimed at Austin.
To the representatives of candidates as well as candidates who commented that Perry just didn't want to debate or was afraid to debate -- shame on you. Governor Perry is a sitting Governor not someone who since 2006 has done nothing but run for President. His first priority is the state of Texas and its people as hard as that is for some no class people to understand.
The article from Byron York at the Washington Examiner that was a little on the snarky side started receiving comments right away about how Governor Perry's first priority was as Governor of Texas. This fire may be the worst one yet that has burned in Texas and that says a lot with all the fires burning in Texas this year. This wasn't the only one around Austin burning as Steiner Ranch to the NW of Austin also lost some homes to a wildfire this weekend. This is an excerpt of what York had to say with my bold:
DeMint and the forum's other organizers are taking Perry at his word about the urgency of the situation in Texas. The fires are a serious and growing problem, and as governor, Perry has a responsibility to deal with them. On the other hand, some rival candidates aren't so understanding.
"It's obvious that Rick Perry is skipping the DeMint forum because he knew he was going to be asked tough questions about his previous support for gay marriage in New York, as well as his policies in Texas in favor of illegal immigration," says one representative of a rival camp. "He's looking for a reason to not actually be compared to the other candidates," says an official in another camp. "He was grasping for a reason not to show."
These comments from other campaigns are classless and arrogant for people who want to President. My suggestion is not to come to this part of the country to campaign with an attitude like that. Even inferring debate organizers and others are taking Perry at his word is inferring he didn't want to debate and the fires were not that bad shows how little they know about Governor Perry. If Governor Perry had stayed, they would have attacked him for not doing his job as Governor. What it does show that most of our candidates don't really have any responsibility that would take them away from a debate on a weekend like a sitting Governor. Unlike York and some of the candidates and their respresentatives, DeMint understood why Gov Perry had to return to Texas in the daylight as the Bastrop fire was raging out of control yesterday.
Governor Perry's comments of what he saw flying into into Austin made you stop and think what you would do if a fire was headed your way and you had minutes to take your most prized possession. After landing he drove to Bastrop to be briefed and then give his news conference on this situation. Gov Perry cares deeply about Texas and its people which shows with his actions and when he speaks. It was obvious he wanted to be there for the ones who had lost everything and others worried about what they were going to find when they returned. One man told about evacuating and looking in his rear view mirror to see his home go up in flames. That is unimaginable of how you would feel.
When you listen to his news conference and hear the last question about his leaving SC before the debate, he leaves no doubt his first priority is being Governor for the people of Texas. A cheer went up from those assembled at the press conference after his remarks.
People in this part of the Country understand as TX, OK, AZ, and NM have been under siege from fires for months. Was sitting on the front porch Friday night and could smell the smoke from a fire SE of us. It is unnerving but to see your house go up in flames and nothing you can do would be horrifying. Texas and Oklahoma have been over 100 degrees for over 60 days this summer sometimes reaching near 110 degrees and over some days which has baked the ground and left trees ready to go up like a match if sparks land on them. It is a very bad situation that is only getting worse. At least our morning temperatures have now gone down last few days and pray that those lower temps go all the way south.
Firefighters battled raging wildfires across Central Texas for a second day Monday as wind-driven flames continued their relentless march through hundreds of homes and across thousands of acres.
With most homeowners unable to survey their property, the scope of the disaster — perhaps the worst of its kind in the region's history — was not fully known by late Monday as officials struggled to provide a complete count of the number of lost structures.
Their efforts to reach a tally also were hindered as new fires continued to break out throughout the evening.
No one had been seriously injured.
But in hard-hit Bastrop County, about 30 miles southeast of Austin, authorities raised early estimates of the number of destroyed homes from 300 to nearly 500.
Fires that had already blackened 25,000 acres — about 40 square miles — also continued to threaten even more homes there, and officials deemed it too dangerous for residents to return to still-smoldering neighborhoods.
In Travis County, a 125-acre fire in Steiner Ranch near Lake Travis destroyed 23 homes and damaged another 20 and was still burning into the night; another fire in western Travis County destroyed more than 60 homes, according to authorities.
Anxious residents there also were not allowed to see what remained of their homes.
Speaking at a news conference at the Bastrop Convention and Exhibit Center, Gov. Rick Perry described the disaster as "a monstrous storm of smoke and fire."
Perry said he has seen the aftermath of wildfires but that "this one is as mean-looking as I've ever seen."
"We will pick up the pieces. We will rebuild," he said.
Perry said he also would seek a major disaster declaration from the federal government.
A spokesman for Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, said that Federal Emergency Management Agency officials will be on the ground in Central Texas this morning.
As Perry returned to his home state from the presidential campaign trail, fires that had started a day earlier continued burning in at least two Central Texas counties.
But the day also brought a burst of new flames, including a fire near Leander that led to the evacuation of 500 people and burned 300 acres and at least 13 homes in the Mason Creek and Crystal Falls subdivisions.
Throughout the area, as blazes bore down on some of their homes, panicked residents reported scooping up what they could — clothes, wedding photos and heirloom jewelry — and fleeing harm's way.
Some told harrowing stories of driving through clouds of smoke and watching in their rearview mirrors as flames overtook their homes.
The good news is that FEMA is on the ground this morning not like in the past where they were no where to be seen. Finally someone got it through their heads in DC that wildfires are disasters and just how devastating they can be.
Look at these pictures along with more at the Statesman that show just how bad this Bastrop fire is in Central Texas. Then tell all of us in the Heartland where Governor Perry should have been yesterday afternoon.
This is not about politics but the lives of so many people who have lost their homes and possessions throughout the western part of the Country this year. It has been a devastating fire season and we are all praying for rain. We didn't get any from the Tropical Storm that dumped on Louisiana and caused flooding.
God Bless Governors Perry, Mary Fallin (OK), Susana Martinez (NM) and Jan Brewer (AZ) and the people of our four states who have been affected by these fires. Our four Governors have seen it up close and personal the devastation caused by wildfires this year. They are doing a great job of being there for our people who have been hit hard this summer with not only the fires but the drought.
This report makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Watching the video at Fox News with the report shows the cover-up that happened not only in ATF but looks to extend to the DOJ and to some people in the White House. What other agencies involved? Fox News has the details along but how much of the MSM has bothered to report on what has happened except for Fox News and some from CBS on this cover-up. Why was the head of the ATF Hurley transferred in the Government and not fired?
Here is the latest from Rep Issa and Senator Grassley:
Issa and Grassley said they want to speak with Hurley and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Morrissey, along with Patrick Cunningham, chief of the office’s Criminal Division.
Not only do congressional investigators want to "make sense" of details of the operation that allowed more than 2,000 guns to "walk" and later turn up at crime scenes on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, but they want to known why Hurley -- who knew almost immediately the guns found at Terry's crime scene belonged to Fast and Furious -- tried to "prevent the connection from being disclosed."
Grassley also raised concerns about the latest data on Fast and Furious guns found at crime scenes in Mexico.
It is scary when you realize that these weapons have been showing up at crimes on both sides of the border. How could the ATF get away with doing this without outcry by the media except for Fox News and CBS demanding answers. Those are the only two you can find in search that are reporting this cover-up by the US Attorney's office in Arizona that extended to the White House in order to conceal "Fast and Furious" which according to Fox News was aimed to track gun sales to Mexico, allegedly, say critics of the program, to build up evidence to publicly blame cartel violence on U.S. gun store owners and lax American gun laws.
Why haven't more heads rolled in this since the DOJ refuses to turn over documents? IMO the Obama Administration in their zeal to make gun store owners along with their definition of 'lax' American gun laws the culprits for the drug cartel violence should be held responsible for the death of a Border Patrol agent and who knows how many people in Mexico or Arizona. Cannot believe the cover-up that was done in the death of a Border Patrol Agent by the US Attorney in Arizona and DOJ with some reporting now that three people in the White House knew. But then I cannot believe the ATF intentionally sold guns to the cartels. Is this Administration dumb enough to think that the cartels wouldn't get guns one way or the other? Whoever came up with that idea needs to be indicted along with the leaders that carried out this insanity.
Evidence Suggests Cover-Up in ATF Scandal, as More Guns Appear at Crime Scenes
Just hours after the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, federal officials tried to cover up evidence that the gun that killed Terry was one the government intentionally helped sell to the Mexican cartels in a weapons trafficking program known as Operation Fast and Furious.
This picture shows part of a cache of seized weapons
displayed at a news conference in Phoenix.
The revelation comes just days after a huge shake-up of government officials who oversaw the failed anti-gun trafficking program and Congress renewed its demand for more answers.
Also late Thursday, Sen. Charles Grassley's office revealed that 31 more Fast and Furious guns have been found at 12 violent crime scenes in Mexico.
In an internal email the day after Terry's murder, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emory Hurley and then-U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke decided not to disclose the connection, saying "this way we do not divulge our current case (Fast and Furious) or the Border Patrol shooting case."
Grassley, R-Iowa, and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said Thursday they are expanding their investigation into the scandal. In a strongly worded letter to Anne Scheel, the new U.S. attorney for Arizona, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee requested interviews, emails, memos and even hand-written notes from members of the U.S. attorney's office that played key roles in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) program.
“The level of involvement of the United States Attorney’s Office ... in the genesis and implementation of this case is striking,” wrote Issa and Grassley.
The two claim witnesses have told them that recently reassigned Hurley may have also prevented ATF agents from doing their jobs.
“Many ATF agents working on Operation Fast and Furious were under the impression that even some of the most basic law enforcement techniques typically used to interdict weapons required the explicit approval of your office, specifically that from Hurley,” the letter states.Issa and Grassley said they want to speak with Hurley and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Morrissey, along with Patrick Cunningham, chief of the office’s Criminal Division.
....
“The Justice Department has been less than forthcoming since day one, so the revisions here are hardly surprising, and the numbers will likely rise until the more than 1,000 guns that were allowed to fall into the hands of bad guys are recovered -- most likely years down the road," Grassley said in a statement released Thursday.
"What we’re still waiting for are the answers to the other questions the Attorney General failed to answer per our agreement. The cooperation of the Attorney General and his staff is needed if we’re ever going to get to the bottom of this disastrous policy and help the ATF and the department move forward.”
In doing the research for this article discovered from Town Hall that there were more agencies involved in 'Fast and Furious' than the DOJ and ATF:
Yesterday during testimony on Capitol Hill, we heard Former ATF Special Agent in Charge William Newell admit he was in contact with White House National Security staffer Kevin O'Reilly about Operation Fast and Furious as early as September 2010. Newell also admitted that the DHS, IRS, DEA, ATF, ICE and the Obama Justice Department were all heavily involved and were full partners in coming up with the concept and execution of Operation Fast and Furious.There is more from Town Hall about all of this:
Attorney General Eric Holder and President Obama still deny authorizing the lethal program, despite President Obama specifically asking Holder to conduct a complete review of current gun enforcement policies during a joint press conference in Mexico City with Mexico President Felipe Calderon in April 2009. The quote below starts at 1:16 in the video.
“Our focus is to work with Secretary Napolitano, Attorney General Holder, our entire Homeland Security team, ATF, border security, everybody who is involved with this to coordinate with our counterparts in Mexico to significantly ramp up our enforcement of existing laws. In fact, I’ve asked Eric Holder to do a complete review of how our current enforcement operations our working and make sure we are cutting down on the loop holes that are causing some of these drug trafficking problems. Last point I would make, is that there are going to be some opportunities where I think we can build some strong consensus I’ll give you one example and that is the issue of gun tracing, the tracing of bullets and ballistics and gun information that had been used in major crimes.”
So let me get this straight, President Obama specifically asked Eric Holder to do a “complete review” of “current gun enforcement operations,” in April 2009, yet Eric Holder and President Obama deny they authorized or knew anything specific about Operation Fast and Furious until 2011? It seems too “coincidental” that the President of the United States was talking about “ballistics and gun tracing” in April 2009, when Operation Fast and Furious started in Fall 2009, especially when the agencies he listed in the 2009 press conference, DHS, DOJ, ATF, “everybody involved,” match up with Newell’s admission about which agencies came up with the idea for Fast and Furious in the first place, which included, as stated above, DEA, IRS, ATF, DHS, and the Obama DOJ.
We ask again why aren't all of the MSM reporting about this and pushing for the answers? Are they afraid the answers will lead direct to the Oval Office?
The federal agency overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac filed lawsuits against 17 financial institutions in an attempt to recover losses from risky mortgage investments.
The lawsuits were filed against many of the nation's largest Wall Street and financial firms, including Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase.
In the complaints, the Federal Housing Finance Agency contends the institutions misrepresented the quality of the investments' underlying loans.
"Based on our review, FHFA alleges that the loans had different and more risky characteristics than the descriptions contained in the marketing and sales materials provided to the enterprises for those securities," the agency said in a press release.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were taken into conservatorship by the federal government during the 2008 financial crisis, are the largest sources of funding for the U.S. housing market.
Note: There go donations to the Obama campaign with these banks being sued by the Federal Government. In Bank of America's case the Federal Government encouraged (demanded) they buy Countrywide where a lot of the problems are coming on mortgages for the Bank of America.
We knew the economy was bad but for the first time since 1945 to have "zero" payroll change shows it is worse than we thought. Is this 9.1% unemployment true or is it much higher than that as many people have stopped looking officially for jobs? These are bad numbers for August and sent the stock market down today.
Employers add no net jobs in Aug.; rate unchanged Employers added no net jobs in August, while unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.1 pct.
Paul Wiseman and Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writers, On Friday September 2, 2011, 4:08 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Employers stopped adding jobs in August, an alarming setback for an economy that has struggled to grow and might be at risk of another recession.
The government also reported that the unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent. It was the weakest jobs report since September 2010.
Stocks tumbled on the news. The Dow Jones industrial average sank more than 200 points in afternoon trading.
Total payrolls were unchanged in August, the first time since 1945 that the government has reported a net job change of zero. Economists warned that the economy can't keep growing indefinitely if hiring remains stalled.
Just what rabbit is Obama going to try and pull out of his hat with his speech on jobs with this report since he already blames the Congress. Guess it is the fault of the Democrats in Congress for passing all his agenda that sent the Country into a tailspin starting with the auto bailouts and stimulus package which hasn't work. Is his speech going to be a lecture to Congress on their responsibilities and make sure he is blameless for the bad economy? Wouldn't be a shock at all after saying now he will review the EPA job killing regulations after the 2012 election. That is another reason not to re-elect him because he would make sure those EPA regulations went through. First the Fed not raising interest until 2013 and now the EPA regulations on ozone put off until after the election. Political games by Obama that the American people have already figured out.
IBD has it pegged but we would like to add that it is not only the liberals spewing this mantra against Perry but Rove and some of the Conservative neocon sites and their writers. After making his speech at the VFW, the neocon sites went after Perry even more. Why because he said we shouldn't send our sons and daughters into war without a plan to win along with the resources?
“A president should never send our sons and daughters into war without a plan to win and the resources to make that possible,” Perry said. ”It’s a dangerous world that we live in today. Our enemies often don’t wear uniforms or swear allegiance to a particular flag but instead to an ideology of hatred. As the 10th anniversary of the attacks of 911 approach, we must renew our commitment to taking the fight to the enemy wherever they are before they strike at home.” (Rick Perry at the VFW)
Now some neocons like Jennifer Rubin cannot stop trashing Rick Perry and along with others are trying to portray him as a religious radical. The might as well say the Republican grassroots and Tea Party are radicals right along with Rick Perry. Cannot get over the so-called conservatives who are trashing Perry as much as the liberals. What does Rove expect to happen? Certainly not going to get Romney elected in the primary so what is his next plan to take out Perry? He tried in 2006 and 2010 to take out Perry as Texas Governor but it didn't work. Why does he think his strategy is going to work this time? The regular conservative sites have Rove pegged for his attacks on Perry for Romney. It is having the reverse affect as more and more are defending Perry across the board from the attacks of the liberals and the neocons/lawyers in the Republican Party.
Must be the right candidate with some of the people who are opposing him along with their weak dollar policy. This is so much like 1980 and what the Bush 41 people tried to do to Reagan in the primary along with the liberal Democrats as the liberals didn't want Carter to face him in the general election. Rove lost that one as well when he took on Reagan.
Likewise, President Reagan was the butt of leftist jokes for his alleged lack of intelligence. "An amiable dunce," they called him. They also looked down on his humble education — he attended tiny Eureka College in Illinois.
But Reagan not only knew more about economics than his supposed intellectual betters — having been educated in the pre-Keynesian, 19th-century tradition of economic thought. He had character, courage, conviction and communication skills that made him the greatest president of the 20th century.
Now they're giving Gov. Perry the same treatment. Good luck. By his lead in the polls, it looks like Americans, rather than dwelling on his transcripts, are cottoning to his common sense and sound policy ideas.
This editorial from IBD gets it right about Governor Perry. We have seen him in office as Texas residents and as Governor from north of the Texas/OK border. Have been very impressed with him since 1990 when he ran for Ag Commissioner. He is one of the most personable candidates along with that West Texas wit who just makes people feel good to support him. What you see is what you get with Rick Perry.
Editorial: Is Gov. Perry Smart? His Record Says Yes
Posted 06:58 PM ET
Politics: Liberals and their water-carriers in the media are trying mightily to characterize Republican front-runner Rick Perry as less intelligent than the president they're bent on re-electing. But who are the dumb ones here?
Denigrating an opponent's intelligence is one way progressives like to work as they follow the "Rules for Radicals" that Saul Alinsky set out for those who wish to seize power on behalf of the left. Followers of the Chicago Marxist include President Obama.
One rules says: "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. It's hard to counterattack ridicule, and it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage."
This is precisely what the left has done with Perry, questioning his mental ability while holding up the president as a paragon of intelligence. Such ridicule, they hope, will goad Perry and those who support him into saying something stupid or regrettable.
Unfortunately for the left, Perry's no dummy. And Americans, increasingly, are looking at the record of our sitting president and wondering how he could go from failure to failure and not alter course — a mark of someone — dare we say it? — who isn't very smart.
How intelligent was it, for example, for Obama early in his term to make a deal with Russia giving up our planned missile defense in Eastern Europe in exchange for help with Iran (which never came)?
What was the president thinking when he signed ObamaCare into law, even though surveys showed 89% of Americans said they were satisfied with their current health care plan? A costly, care-rationing program that Americans want repealed will cost well over $1 trillion over 10 years.
Cash for Clunkers ran out of money its first week, and GM recently announced that taxpayers won't ever get their money back. A huge waste of money that didn't revive car sales. A smart move in retrospect?
Then there was the brilliant $839 billion stimulus, which so far this year has resulted in an economy growing at a near-recessionary 0.7% while unemployment remains stuck above 9%. And the big thinkers at the White House would like to do it all over again!
Didn't the cerebral Obama think twice before running up $4 trillion in debts in less than three years, pushing America's total indebtedness above $14.5 trillion, or 100% of GDP, and bringing about the first-ever downgrade of the nation's credit rating?
What brainiac decided to walk away from longtime U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, so that the fundamentalist, America-hating Muslim Brotherhood can write a new constitution and take power?
What was the president thinking when he backed a rebel insurgency in Libya without knowing who will take power once Moammar Gadhafi is gone? Meanwhile, we've largely abandoned our best, and only, democratic friend in the region, Israel, which appears on the verge of war with the Palestinians and possibly Iran and Egypt. Has this been intelligent?
Not only is this partial record abysmal, but Obama seems dead-set on repeating the same errors — seeking more stimulus, pushing more targeted tax breaks for favored industries and perpetuating the absurd myth that we can recover by creating "green" jobs.
Perry? The knock on him is that he's a Texan with a Texan's drawl. For elitist liberals, a southern accent is akin to a mental disability.
He's also a graduate of Texas A&M, not some fancy Ivy League school, like Obama and most of his aides and Cabinet. Enemies deride him by calling him "Gov. Goodhair." But let's look at the record.
Perry served his country as pilot of C-130 transport planes — huge, $130 million aircraft that carry very important cargo, including troops and equipment. Does anyone believe the U.S. Air Force would entrust such a responsibility to someone of limited intelligence?
It also takes more than a little savvy to win every political office you've sought. And so far, Perry's eight for eight. He's been governor of the nation's fastest-growing, most business-savvy state for 10 years.
Since June 2009, Texas has produced nearly 40% of all net new U.S. jobs. He talks about small, manageable government, and delivers. Every one of his budgets — every one — has been balanced, and his state has a $6 billion "rainy day fund."
Remember in August, when S&P downgraded U.S. debt from AAA to AA+? In 2009, S&P upgraded Texas' rating from AA to AA+. If only we had such a dunce in the White House now.
To recast a quote from Forrest Gump, "intelligent is as intelligent does." Perry seems to do lots of smart things, despite lacking the elitist credentials of the so-called leaders in today's dysfunctional, hyper-incompetent Washington.
But this is an old slur. Whenever the left doesn't like someone, they resort to ridicule. That happened with Harry S Truman, who didn't even go to college but who as president made courageous and often unpopular decisions — such as resisting Soviet expansionism — that later turned out to be right.
Now we have an ad by Bachmann's front group PAC attacking Rick Perry on being from the south and increasing the budget in Texas. The ad is on Hot Air. Here is a excerpt from one of the Hot Air writers about the ad:
The ad begins airing in Columbia, S.C., today and will run for one week on CNBC, Fox News and CNN.
“Nobody will go after Rick Perry so I thought I would,” PAC founder Bob Harris told CNN. “His record doesn’t match the big talk.”
That’s not quite right, of course: Plenty of conservatives have gone after Rick Perry — and I’m firmly in the camp of those who maintain every conservative candidate, no matter how appealing or how promising, has to be vetted (in fact, the more promising, the more rigorous the vetting should be!). But the ad’s selective images, piddly background music, cheesy substitution of “hombre” for “man,” and pseudo-Southern-sounding narrator combine to make the ad likely to be ineffective. A big spender Rick Perry might be, but a hick he is not. He’s of humble origins and from the South, yes, if that’s what the ad is driving at, but, more importantly, he’s a seasoned politician who professes a strong brand of conservatism at the same time that he displays energetic executive leadership. The ad’s thinly veiled attempt to portray him as backwoods rubs the wrong way, especially when it comes from a conservative organization that surely knows the MSM will do what it can to perpetuate the “gee, aren’t Republicans dumb” meme.
Agree 100% about vetting a candidate and what was wrong with the Obama campaign -- media did not vet Obama and what they did find, they covered up. Now for what the Perry campaign said as they immediately shot back:
Rick Perry’s presidential campaign lashed out at a pro-Michele Bachmann Super PAC that is planning to run a television ad in South Carolina seeking to portray the Texas governor as unworthy of Tea Party support.
“Gov. Perry is a proven fiscal conservative, having cut taxes, signed six balanced budgets, and led Texas to become America’s top job-creating state,” Ray Sullivan, communications director for Perry’s presidential campaign, said in a statement on Thursday. “Congresswoman Bachmann’s front-group ad is patently and provably false. Unlike Washington, the Texas budget is balanced, does not run deficits and limits spending, even as Texas added jobs and population in big numbers.”
Anyone with an ounce of brains would know when you have as many new people moving into Texas as has happened since Rick Perry has been Governor, your budget is going to grow by leaps and bounds. What did Texas do under Perry -- they balanced the budget by 'cutting' and at the same time made sure there was plenty of money in the rainy day fund in case something catastrophic happened.
Thought this was the perfect place to show the ad from Rick Perry talking about who he is since the Bachmann ad portrays him in a negative light being some hick from the south:
Michelle Bachmann from Minnesota who has never been an Executive at any level in Government is taking on a Governor from the Southwest as one poster said about Bachmann "She's a da.. Yankee so what do you expect?" She tried her superior act in Waterloo, IA, when she camped out in her bus while Perry spoke, and then making a grand entrance to Elvis music which did not go over well. She said she was at a family reunion and why she couldn't share dinner with them but she lied as she didn't attend the reunion. Then Rick Perry waited around to have a few words with Bachmann and shake hands after she was finished speaking but she refused to acknowledge he was in the room.
A southerner or westerner would shake hands and talk to a fellow Republican unlike what Bachmann pulled. In fact, having grown up in the north and lived in Texas and Oklahoma for the last 21 years along with almost five years in Southern California, I will take the friendliness of the people in this part of the Country any day to what I saw growing up in Ohio and even worse the farther east and north you go. Rudest people I have ever met were in Massachusetts when we were there on an Air Force Industry assignment for nine, long miserable months with Vermont and NY State coming in a close second.
I will take a Western Governor any day of the week over someone from a Democrat state whose state supported Obama and elected a Democrat Governor in 2010. Bachmann's people don't even understand that Texas is part of the Western Governor's association. Poor choice for an ad and poor choice of words to run in South Carolina shows she is not ready for prime time. The wording in the ad is offensive to those of us who live in this part of the Country.
Bachmann is about to find out how they play politics in the big leagues and obviously with this ad in South Carolina shows she is not ready for prime time. I know how PACs work so don't bother to say she or her husband didn't know about it -- if you believe that there are pigs flying by my window.
Bachmann is late to events and some events she didn't show up at all in Iowa. Why doesn't some reporter ask her why the House Tea Party Caucus she founded that has no meetings and never takes a stand on anything? They might discover that all the hype was to position her to run for President. Why not check out her anemic legislative record? Wouldn't take long to discover she has not been in the front of the pack submitting bills.
This should be an interesting debate at the Reagan Library with Bachmann's people pulling this stunt with running this ad in South Carolina filled with lies against Governor Perry. Maybe I should start a rumor she is Rove's next candidate but then she does have Rollins as a consultant so she doesn't need Rove for being underhanded. Originally Rollins went to Ross Perot in 1992 against Bush 41 and Clinton. This little gem sums up Rollins ads against opponents -- would bet he had a hand in that negative ad against Perry as it would fit his style:
Bachmann will also have to especially avoid gaffes that can be linked to Rollins’ political baggage, and, perhaps most important, be willing to play a little dirty. “The negatives feel good,” Ed Rollins told the Washington Post around the time of the Huckabee incident. “It’s like being a boxer when you’re young. To me, hitting somebody, knocking somebody down, is a great feeling. Firing out a negative ad just feels amazing.”
This ad filled with lies is right out of that Rollins playbook -- he wanted Huckabee to run a negative ad against Romney but when Huckabee refused Rollins showed the ad to the media as this was the kind of ad Huckabee was not running so he was still able to get out his trashy ad.
IMHO Rollins is a scumbag consultant any way you want to slice it with his negative ads mentality which fits right in with this ad running in South Carolina filled with lies trying to use a stereotype against Govenor Perry.
We will translate for the LA Times that Obama threw a temper tantrum because he lost on having his speech on the same night as the GOP Debate from the Reagan Library. Obama caved so he gets back at both houses by sending out a snippy email to his loyal followers. What an immature thing to do but what we have come to expect out of Obama.
What we found the most interesting of the article was the picture of Obama used in the article by the LA Times not some conservative blog. It is a perfect picture for the article.
Obama is as thin-skinned as I have ever seen for a politician not to mention President. Bill Clinton was the king of making jokes out of anything he lost. He was smart enough to know that Congress has to be worked with not attacked. Obama has none of what they called the Clinton charm at the time.
Obama became President because the media refused to vet him. He had little experience, thin resume, but he walked on water according to the media. Now look at the mess this Country is in thanks to Obama and the Progressives in Congress who spend and then spend some more not caring if we have enough money.
If you don't have Executive experience, you should not run for President or if you are thin skinned stay out of the race. It is a tough job and requires people with a backbone to handle it. Obviously Obama does not have a backbone when he decides to send an email whining about Congress.
Obama attacking the Congress for not focusing on what needs to be focused on would be laughable if he wasn't serious. This from the guy who was playing golf while the take down of Osama was in progress and has been campaigning all over the country including his bus trip where he flew and used the $2.2M worth of buses for a few miles instead of doing his job. If he was trying to look like he is whining because the 'mean old' Congress made him cave, he was successful. If he is trying to play the big bad guy who is going to blame Congress for his failures as President, he failed miserably at that as well.
We would give Obama a big fat "F" for this debacle!
Minutes after his Sept. 8 address to Congress is set, Obama bashes both houses
August 31, 2011 | 7:54
Within minutes of agreeing with congressional leaders Wednesday night on an address to a joint session next week, President Obama flashed out an email to millions of supporters criticizing the chambers, their members and vowing to pressure them to enact his as yet unspecified job creation ideas.
"It's been a long time since Congress was focused on what the American people need them to be focused on," the Democrat charged in an email with the subject line: "Frustrated."
It's not exactly clear how long "a long time" Obama was thinking of. But until midterm voters produced a historic House turnover to Republicans last November, Obama's Democratic Party controlled both houses with substantial majorities and gave him vast spending, reform and healthcare programs.
It was, at least in part, voter reaction to such legislation that produced the divided government in D.C. now.
This evening's email is likely revealing of the strategy this White House intends to follow for the 2012 presidential election, blaming Congress for what hasn't happened in the economy and employment sectors.
Polls show approval of Obama's economic leadership now down around 1 in 3, with 2 out of 3 feeling the country is on the wrong track.
Speaking of his joint session address Sept. 8, Obama's email says:
Next week, I will deliver the details of the plan and call on lawmakers to pass it. Whether they will do the job they were elected to do is ultimately up to them. But both you and I can pressure them to do the right thing.
We can send the message that the American people are playing by the rules and meeting their responsibilities -- and it's time for our leaders in Congress to meet theirs. And we must hold them accountable if they don't.
Other than the chief executive's threats and the lousy job performance review of both parties, it looks like Obama and Congress are in for a really nice working relationship in coming months.
This is an excellent interview with Steve Forbes about the economy, the Federal Reserve, Obama, Bernanke and the Republican candidates for President. Forbes comments on who he will most likely endorse:
“I’m looking over the whole field now. I’m very impressed with Governor Perry, so that’s where the wind’s blowing in my little world. I’ll be making a decision soon.
“Maybe one or two other candidates might come in during the next couple of weeks, but I’ve certainly been impressed by what Governor Perry did. Perhaps he gets over-exuberant in what he says about the Federal Reserve, but he is right. The Fed has a lot to answer for.”
The people who came out and slammed Rick Perry about his comments on the Fed are finding out from person after person who understands the Fed that Perry was right about the Fed. Forbes comments on Ben Bernanke are priceless:
Forbes is highly critical of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who has said any rise inflation is transitory.
“Well, life is transitory,” Forbes observes. “What he’s doing in terms of manipulating the interest rate market is simply another form of price controls. That doesn’t work for very long. What he’s done with interest rate policy is subsidize government debt and discourage lending to small businesses. It’s distorted the market. He’s doing more harm than good. I wish he’d gone to Martha’s Vineyard with the president and stayed there.
“If Ben Bernanke was judged on how well he’s done his job, he would have resigned a long time ago. But in Washington, [be] a failure and you move upward.”
We need more interviews from people like Steve Forbes who understand what is happening with the economy and how to fix it instead of the rhetoric we see out Obama, Bernanke and the Obama Administration that spending more tax dollars is the way out of the bad economy which does not work.
Forbes comments on the main field for the Republican nomination are insightful and very much on the same page as many Republicans including myself. Love his comments that Ron Paul should be running for the Fed. Very good interview and well worth your time to watch.
Steve Forbes to Newsmax: Obama, Bernanke Must GoWednesday, 31 Aug 2011 06:03 PM
By Jim Meyers and Kathleen Walter
Former presidential candidate and Forbes magazine editor Steve Forbes tells Newsmax that President Obama’s planned economic reforms are “the definition of insanity” — repeating failed policies in the hopes that somehow they will become successful.
In a wide-ranging exclusive interview, Forbes also declares that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke should have resigned a long time ago, says Obama will be a one-term president, and looks for significant and positive reforms in Washington after the 2012 elections.
He also predicts the United States will make an “astonishing” move and return to a gold standard in the next five years, and says he’s “very impressed” with Gov. Rick Perry and is leaning toward supporting him for the GOP presidential nomination.
Excerpt: Read more on Newsmax about this interview with Steve Forbes
Arrogance of NRA is simply stunning - for an organization who used to be about gun safety now the bottom line for gun/ammo manufacturers trumps all as the NRA lobbies for them.
According to Think Progress, “NRA: Practice Range” is billed as a “network of news, laws, facts, knowledge, safety tips, educational materials and online resource” for the organization.The National Rifle Association released a new app on Sunday that includes a gun range equipped with coffin-shaped targets, and the option for players to simulate using a military-grade sniper rifle.
The app includes what it calls “9 true to life firearms,” and allows players to download an MK-11 sniper rifle setting for 99 cents. The rifle can shoot 750 rounds per minute.
Dems/GOP Fighting -- Will they Finally Work Together for the Country? Will replace this image when they do. (11/07/2012)
Quotes
"We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society, but that can’t be an excuse for inaction. Surely we can do better than this." President Barack Obama, Newtown, CT, 12/16/2012
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"I don't think that the way to correct a spin from the left is to try to impart a spin from the right.... [A]n information flow distorted from the right would be just as much a disservice as distortion from the left. What we really should be after... is accurate information. And I don't see what any conservative or anybody else for that matter has to fear from accurate information." M. Stanton Evans
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Former Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY)
“For heaven’s sake, you have Grover Norquist wandering the earth in his white robes saying that if you raise taxes one penny, he’ll defeat you,” he told CNN back in May. “He can’t murder you. He can’t burn your house. The only thing he can do to you, as an elected official, is defeat you for reelection. And if that means more to you than your country when we need patriots to come out in a situation when we’re in extremity, you shouldn’t even be in Congress.”
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"We are are an American family and we rise or fall together as one nation.
John Stuart Mill was a 19th century political philosopher:
"I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle that I hardly think any gentleman will deny it." John Stuart Mill.
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