Breaking News
The Unseen Hand of Arlen Specter?
Questions on ACORN to Limbaugh-style tax cuts to TV cameras in the stimulus conference room.
Questions.
* Will Arlen Specter press his colleagues to allow C-SPAN cameras in the House-Senate conference on the trillion dollar stimulus bill?
* Has the controversial left-wing activist group ACORN had its ability to get millions in federal pork stripped out of the Senate version of the stimulus bill?
* And does the percentage of spending versus tax cuts in the Senate bill resemble a proposal put forward recently on the pages of the Wall Street Journal by the nation’s number one conservative radio talk show host — Rush Limbaugh?
These are but three of many questions that Specter will be facing as he once again plays out his ongoing role as Pennsylvania’s man-in-the middle during the ongoing negotiations over the stimulus bill. Along with Maine’s GOP moderate Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, Specter has aroused the wrath of conservatives around the country and in his home state. At a weekend meeting of the Pennsylvania Republican State Committee — which Specter missed because of the stimulus bill controversy — he was nonetheless the center of attention. Unwelcome attention. One seething Committee member snapped to a reporter that the Senator was a “better Democrat” than many Democrats in Congress.
Specter never shies away from this kind of thing, meeting his critics head on.
Having made the rounds of conservative talk radio (getting into a dust-up with Laura Ingraham along the way), Specter keeps plowing along in the unglamorous bulldog role he has claimed for himself over the years, managing to anger just about everybody up to and including his Judiciary Committee colleague Ted Kennedy.
Yet Pennsylvanians familiar with Specter’s career have long known to watch him very, very carefully at moments like this. He has an unerring ability to surprise even those who believe him to be on “their” side of an issue. Specter is, for example, pro-choice. Yet it was he in his role as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee who has regularly seen to it that Bush nominees from the federal district and appeals courts all the way to the two key nominations of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sam Alito made it successfully through his committee and then the full Senate. Believing as he quite strongly does that “the country cannot afford to take action,” Specter and his gang of three provided the votes that carried the Senate-version of the stimulus bill over the 60-vote threshold that was so sacred politically to President Obama. But, as with his work on pro-choice issues while getting conservative judges approved, along the way two curious things appear to have happened in the Senate bill that beg the obvious question: Who did this?
One was removing the monies that could conceivably have gone to ACORN, the group under investigation before the election for potential voter fraud. One of the sources of a complaint against ACORN was, yes indeed, the Chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican State Committee. The complaint, forwarded to federal authorities, revolved around ACORN’s activities in several Pennsylvania counties, including Philadelphia and Delaware, two of the state’s most populous. Funds that could have been accessed by ACORN (through a grant process) were present in the House version of the bill championed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Suddenly the funds have mysteriously vanished in the Senate version that Specter approved.
A second curiosity is even more interesting. Sources insist that the proportion of tax cuts-to-spending hikes (this would be pork) in the Senate version of the bill are now hovering closer to 54-46 percent. Something that is not true in the House bill. 54-46? Where did this seemingly arbitrary number come from? Specter has not said. Call me crazy, but I do believe this breakdown is exactly what was proposed on his radio show by one of Arlen Specter’s decided non-fans, Rush Limbaugh. The number, of course, refers to the percentages of the Obama-McCain election results with Rush, in a typically bold throw of the philosophical gauntlet, suggesting that the stimulus bill follow the election results. So the question here is: Is this really so? What, exactly, are the ratios here and how much of the Senate version of this bill are in fact dedicated to tax cuts — before the conference takes place?
Which brings us to the looming Senate-House conference on this monstrosity. (And it is a monstrosity that ought to go down. But it won’t.)
Specter’s GOP Senate colleague, Nevada’s John Ensign, has quite appropriately picked up on Obama’s insistence on bringing “transparency” to Washington? The obvious place to begin is with the Senate-House conference itself. Will Specter push for this?
Will he push for exactly what Obama says he wants, real, genuine transparency? Such as:
* Getting the C-SPAN cameras in the Conference room.
* Publishing the list of all Senate and House staff members involved, along with bios. Staff members, always seen sitting quietly behind their bosses, wield considerable clout in these kind of meetings. As we speak it is surely true that staff-only meetings are going on this very minute to consider both the substance and the procedures of the conference, the results of which will be agreed to by their bosses after staff-level negotiation. The public has a right to know who these un-elected people in the Conference room are.
About the Author
Jeffrey Lord is a former Reagan White House political director and author. He writes from Pennsylvania at jlpa1@aol.com.
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Bob Montgomery| 2.11.09 @ 2:30PM
jharp: Would you care to consult with, e.g., Walter E. Williams,or Thomas Sowell, before you call Rush Limbaugh a racist pig?
emo| 2.11.09 @ 2:33PM
"No one. No one, takes the three time divorced, drug addled, racist pig seriously, save his dittohead audience. Which last time I checked is about 25% of the electorate. Mainly the poor uneducated rednecks in the south."
Really? What are your data sources? Color me skeptical.
OldJoe| 2.11.09 @ 2:42PM
“No one. No one, takes the three time divorced, drug addled, racist pig seriously, save his dittohead audience. Which last time I checked is about 25% of the electorate. Mainly the poor uneducated rednecks in the south.”
Sorry fool, I have a degree and most all of my friends have degrees. You think because we live in the south we are uneducated and rednecks, what a close minded idiot. Rush’s listeners on the average are better educated than NPR listeners and unlike NPR listeners, we typically don’t feed at the public trough.
I have self made multi-millionaire friends with advance degrees and run large companies. I have other friends that have developed small companies that employ only a few people. I have friends that are engineers, doctors, salespeople, company vice presidents, and many more that all listen to Rush religiously. Why, because is the best voice for the truth on the airways. I would bet that you have never listened to a complete Rush show.
As for his drugs and ex-wives, Obama admits to cocaine and marijuana, Bill Clinton admits to marijuana only but we all know about the coke, Barney Frank is so stupid his boy friend runs a male whore house out of the basement, Bill Clinton cheats on his wife disgracing the Oval Office and commits perjury, Daschle cheats on his taxes, Ted Kennedy commits manslaughter on his groupie and covers it with the help of the Senate, and the list of crimes by Democrat liberals goes on and on. Compared to your heroes, Rush is a highly intelligent saint.
OldJoe| 2.11.09 @ 2:50PM
Final comment, if the south is full if uneducated rednecks, why is it that you Yankees always want to vacation and retire down here? We real southerners don’t need you and don’t want you with you better than thou attitudes and your attempt to change the South so that it mirrors the North the you are working to get out of.
Feste| 2.11.09 @ 3:04PM
"I have self made multi-millionaire friends with advance degrees and run large companies. I have other friends that have developed small companies that employ only a few people. I have friends that are engineers, doctors, salespeople, company vice presidents, and many more that all listen to Rush religiously. Why, because is the best voice for the truth on the airways. I would bet that you have never listened to a complete Rush show"
As a public service, here is the grammatically correct version of this paragraph:
I have *self-made,* multi-millionaire friends with *advanced degrees *who run large companies. I have other friends *who have developed small companies that employ only a few people. I have friends *who are engineers, doctors, salespeople, company vice presidents, and many more, *all of whom listen to Rush religiously. Why?* Because *his is the best voice for the truth on the *airwaves. I would bet that you have never listened to a complete Rush show.
Wow. Ten errors in one paragraph. Way to demonstrate your vaunted education.
mjn| 2.11.09 @ 3:08PM
Feste -
Typical liberal nonsense. Think you could actually argue a point rather than acting like a jerk? (Note: I have a mathematics degree and quite like Rush Limbaugh).
Teleprompter Messiah| 2.11.09 @ 3:17PM
OldJoe:
Let jharp live in 1968, we down South will just continue being productive and prosperous, continue to receive the tax refugees from up North and the investment dollars from all over the world. Let the jharps keep their Detroits and smug arrogant ignorance; we'll just keep on laughing all the way to the bank.
stmichrick| 2.11.09 @ 3:44PM
Senator Spector is a master of having things both ways. Remember his vote of 'not proven' during impeachment?
He clings to power in an increasingly liberal state which explains his schizophrenia. It won't be long until he turns completely Blue. At least we got Roberts and Alito out of him.
I think it is time to purge RINOs like him; we are not deciding the majority any longer in the Senate so a Change is overdue. Having Republicans like him around clouds the policy distinctions that need to made...a resurgence of conservatism will be delayed as long as his presence is construed as being Republican.
Teleprompter Messiah| 2.11.09 @ 4:02PM
jharp:
You mean like those entitlements we pay for from our taxes? We do still work down here so we still pay taxes and FICA.
I think you are barking at the wrong dog park.
Angelo Z| 2.11.09 @ 4:03PM
It's just too bad that Specter will not give GOP members an opportunity to defeat him for being the hypocrite that he is. Probably assessing the situation as we speak, he is realizing that he will be deafeted in 2010 by Toomey. This time he won't have the ever so gracious W" to help him, and later stabbed the former president in the back as Specter so "gracioulsy" did once he was re-elected. He also will not be able to go on Rush's show to make his case to Republicans, as he did last time around. I am sure Rush will not accept any such request by the RINO this time around. Therefore, be prepare to hear very soon that Mr Specter will not run for re-election.
ashok | 2.11.09 @ 4:30PM
Maybe Senator Specter is up to something really good. I dunno.
I'm staying hopeful, and if there are more cuts in this monstrosity, and they're due to him, I'll actually be grateful.
Dustoff| 2.11.09 @ 4:35PM
Now let's have a round of applause for our new President for a job well done.
___________________________
Just a tad bit early. NOTHING has happened yet. By the way, shall we wait for say 6 months and really see what happens. So far the stock market is not impressed.
Jim| 2.11.09 @ 5:16PM
jharp, Rush must have you soiling your pants. He's not an elected offical, why are you so afraid of him? Is it because he might be telling America about you tax cheat heroes?. If you want to debate you need to get past the Daily KOS talking points, until then you are just another moron.
Red Phillips | 2.11.09 @ 5:20PM
The problem with crediting Rush is that Rush's proposal was obviously tongue-in-cheek. It was not a serious proposal. It was an attempt at humor. He was illustrating absurdity by being absurd.
As a Red Stater and a proud Southerner, jharp is correct about one thing when he isn't polishing up his PC bona fides. Red States do receive entirely too much of their own pork. That is the problem with pork. Like crack it is addictive and hard to give up. That is why it should never be given in the first place. (By pork I don't mean obvious waste, I mean all spending not authorized by the Constitution.)
OldJoe| 2.11.09 @ 5:48PM
Sorry about my grammatical errors. My degree was in Computer Science not English. And, I was a little rushed since I actually work in the private sector rather than existing on a make work, government funded job as I suspect many of the Rush haters pursue.
Reagan's Ghost| 2.11.09 @ 6:11PM
All of the commie-libs now trying to cover for the Commie-In-Chief and his Merry Band of Thieves have howled bloody murder about $700 dollar hammers and toilets seats in the military. They are so mentally and morally handicapped as to not see it will be that for ALL OF US, when the government runs everything else as well. Parasites of society don't care about the costs to producers when they buy propaganda that all of the ignorant third world dictatorships have bought before them - that they are gonna get over, and get freebies. In fact, jail is a great place to some of these types, as everything is paid for, and they are with their own kind.
Interloper| 2.11.09 @ 6:29PM
"Call me crazy." You are crazy, Jeffery Lord. Furthermore, you are talentless hack who blathers on endlessly, apparently hoping to be paid per word. You waste more space than anyone else at this site.
Even some of the AS readers are not foolish enough to believe that Rush Limbaugh is controlling the budget writing process, or that ACORN, which mainly does things such as weatherization and delivering meals to the shut-in, is some monstrous threat to democracy, or that a bill in which earmarks play no part is all about 'pork.' The fact that this passes for conservative thought proves many conservatives don't think.
Cmarsh| 2.11.09 @ 9:04PM
"No one. No one, takes the three time divorced, drug addled, racist pig seriously, save his dittohead audience. Which last time I checked is about 25% of the electorate. Mainly the poor uneducated rednecks in the south."
One person who takes Rush seriously is President Obama. Ditto Pelosi and Reid. And the rest of the democrats in Congress who desperately want to silence him.
Jim| 2.11.09 @ 9:05PM
Interloper,
"ACORN, which mainly does things such as weatherization and delivering meals to the shut-in,"
If this is all they were doing they wouldn't be under invetigation now would they? You are just another mindless drone whose only function is to blindly serve your master, the magic negro and his chinese controllers.
marko| 2.11.09 @ 9:06PM
JHarp, your comments on the south are really naive. you should come to Charlotte, NC, spend a little time. The economy here is booming compared to the urban northeast. The air is cleaner, the people are bright and friendly, the streets do not smell like urine, and humans are not outnumbered by rats. Do us a favor though. just visit for a while, clear your lungs , then go back home.
Interloper| 2.11.09 @ 9:48PM
In the interest of being helpful, I am going to restate something I thought any at all informed person knew by now:
The Southern states, significantly behind in education, health care and remunerative jobs, lag the rest of the country in wages and income. As a result, citizens of those states get more back in federal funds for services than they pay to the federal government. That does not mean that everyone in those states is poor, ill-educated, or low wage. But, people are disproportionately.
An interesting aspect of this is that my birth state, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland have indeed moved closer to the norms of the rest of the nation. That is largely because of an influx of people moving to those states from elsewhere, including foreign immigration. The natives are still disproportionately mired in the legacy of the South, which holds them back. The laggards are the ones who vote Republican. The Southern born people who get it have learned to move on. Along with newcomers, they are changing the death grip the GOP's Southern Strategy has had on the South.
I realize that many people here do not like to here these truths. They want to hide their heads in the sand. The hacks who write most of these articles are more than willing to help out. However, reality is reality. Hiding from it does not make it go away.
Red Phillips | 2.11.09 @ 10:21PM
Interloper, to some degree the South is still suffering from Lincoln's invasion and the attempts by the North since then to treat us like an economic colony.
And some of the discrepancies you point out can also be explained by demographics.
But you are correct about one thing. Immigration to the South from north of the Mason Dixon line is slowly changing the Southern character of NC, Virginia, etc. So would you kindly please leave? If you hate us so bad, why did you get 600,000 + of both countries best and brightest killed to keep us from leaving?
Teleprompter Messiah| 2.11.09 @ 11:01PM
Interloper:
You are far off. The South has become more prosperous because this is still a pro business, pro growth area. That has attracted tax refugees from other states, particularly the Midwest. Are all these former Yankees chomping at the bit to bring back Jim Crow? No. But they are in no rush to turn it into Michigan. Are they happy not to be in Toledo or Detroit? Yessir, very happy. And they vote Republican too.
The South's economy is overtaking the rest of the country in size. One questions when legacy businesses in California or New York will wizen up that you don't have to be a work mule for Democrat machines.
Please, please, dependency mentality Blue Staters stay where you are. You have already ruined the only state worth a damn in the Northeast, New Hampshire.
Derp| 2.11.09 @ 11:11PM
jharp| 2.11.09 @ 10:27PM
" Your joking? Right? Rush Limbaugh is lucky he's not in jail. And I see you obviously been listening to his BS about someone trying to silence him.
You got any evidence of it? "
Google "Fairness Doctrine"
Its in the news quite a lot lately.
Country boy| 2.11.09 @ 11:25PM
Well, it has to be good news that Obama sycophants are here. (jharp, Interloper). Dems must see a problem coming, with this massive "down your throat" takeover of American liberties. The Obama trogan horse is inside the walls, and the Obama minions are pouring out.
And I say to the Obama sycophants - post you trash, it just makes you look more foolish, proves what weak-kneed knaves your are. If your thought process was rational, you would have talk radio shows too!
Interloper| 2.11.09 @ 11:47PM
"Knaves," he said. Let's hear it for knaves!
Nick| 2.12.09 @ 12:42AM
jackass harp,
Maybe someday you won't believe everything that comes out of Forehead Begala's blowhole.
Grandpa| 2.12.09 @ 1:33AM
Never argue with an idiot, when you do you run the risk of people having difficulty telling you apart. God, correcting someone’s English, punctuation and spelling is something I haven’t seen since I was in college 40+ years ago. I guess some guys never do get over having a girlfriend break up with them.
Pingback| 2.12.09 @ 3:08AM
GrassrootsPA » LORD: THE UNSEEN HAND OF SPECTER?… links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
KansasCityShakedown| 2.12.09 @ 4:59AM
Every time I read the praise of these 3 GOP traitor's effort in taking 100BIL out of this Porkulis bill it makes me sick, it's like throwing the deckchairs of the Titanic overboard.
Country Boy| 2.12.09 @ 6:21AM
jharp, Interloper - your problem is that your golden boy (zerobama) is using mirrors to make it look like everybody just want a car, a kitchen & a bathroom to make things right. And I'm sure he can easily steal enough money to get everybody that. Problem is, that most folks who are literate (you know, like the 46 % who didn't vote for Obama), can't be bought off with a few trinkets. This 46% wants our birthright. We want freedom, (to be clear, for the 54% who voted for Obama's trinket give-away).
Anyway, once the first round of trinkets is given out, the 54% is gonna want another round of trinkets. And if the trinkets are coming quick enough, those folks are gonna get nasty!
Watch out!
markinwv| 2.12.09 @ 10:13AM
So no one takes Rush seriously?
Methinks the liberal doth protest too much.
Glezzery| 2.12.09 @ 12:38PM
I have followed Spector for a long time and have one conclusion: He is a magnificent Republican Senator.
He seems to draw a lot of reactionary flak from the right and is called a liberal and yadda yadda, but in the end, he is often on board in a powerful way, behind the scenes.
I have been amazed at the sheer force he can have on the right. He does surprise.
Whenever it truly counts, Spector has been there.
I believe he is the smartest member of the Rights causus.
ruth| 2.12.09 @ 2:46PM
Who pays these liberal clowns to pollute our site? They spew the same old tired hackneyed garbage every day. Boring. You bet the liberals are going to try to silence Rush. Senator Harkin was pushing the 'Unfairness Doctrine' just yesterday. Good luck, morons. You want a war with the Right? You will get it.
Ellis Wyatt| 2.12.09 @ 3:58PM
There are no tax cuts in the bill. There are welfare checks called tax cuts but that does not make them a tax cut. They are more spending - taking money from someone and giving it to someone else. I will give mine to my church so I can write it off as a deduction on my taxes. It will be interesting to see how he keeps his promise of cutting taxes for 95% of Americans. Let's read his lips if he lets the Bush tax cuts expire next year. I just read a story that many economists are forecasting that the beginning of recovery from recession will not start by thrid quarter of this year due to this disgraceful spending bill. Nice job Obama, you have a golden opportunity and you waste your entire legacy in the first three weeks of your administration. There are many Obama voters now realizing the collossal mistake they made voting for such an inexperienced moron. Problem is we will be paying for it during our own lost decade to come.
Interloper| 2.12.09 @ 4:43PM
Country Boy, you still don't get it, so I am going to say it one more time. The South is the region that lags behind most of the country in education, health and wages. The second rung of laggards is Western states, including Alaska. These regions get much more money back from the federal government than they contribute.
Anyone looking at the election results will be struck by the significant correlation between higher education and voting for Obama. Your claim that the "literate' voted for McCain, is, as they say down South, ass-backwards.
Ellis Wyatt| 2.12.09 @ 5:23PM
How "educated" can you really be if you voted for Obama. Anyone with a basic education and some knowledge of economics (think about that introductry class you took in high school) knows this spending bill will harm the economy. People with degrees may have voted for Obama but they were either ignorant of the issues, voted for him because he was "the cool black guy", or simply continue to vote for a failed ideology because they are too intellectual to have common sense. Funny thing is they are going to be the ones paying the most if education correlates to salaries and jobs.
TecumsehSherman| 2.12.09 @ 8:38PM
Old Joe, writing "Final comment, if the south is full if uneducated rednecks, why is it that you Yankees always want to vacation and retire down here? We real southerners don’t need you and don’t want you with you better than thou attitudes and your attempt to change the South so that it mirrors the North the you are working to get out of. "
Ummm, newsflash for Old Joe.
We Yankees won the War. You lost. We own your sorry redneck, trailer park residing butt. And we don't tolerate our inferiors calling us Yankees, you redneck.
Your side lost. Get over it. Gheeeesh, you Southern redneck peckers are worse than the French sometimes.
Tecumseh Sherman| 2.12.09 @ 8:43PM
Ellis, you got the wrong question, there boy. How stupid were you to vote for W when anyone with a high school education knew the guy was the 3rd rate dustoff in Bush 41's family? How stupid were you to support his decision to turn over $350b in Treasury assets to banks and the Administration couldn't even explain what the banks did with a 1/3rd of a trillion dollars!!
Yeah, people who voted for Obama are stupid? Are you serious? Do you realize how stupid you look making that statement in light of what your moron president did just on his stimulus bill??
Did God let out all the idiots today or are you just one who escaped through a crack in the wall?
Pingback| 2.12.09 @ 9:41PM
TIN Links 2.12.09 « THE IRATE NATION links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Frosty| 2.14.09 @ 3:07AM
Obama voted for the first bailout, too, Sherman. And he's pushing for another one, a real slow learner. Guess he ain't so smart either! Now watch as you idiot, stupid liberals spend us into third world nation status. Moron.
Stan Pruzki| 2.14.09 @ 11:01PM
As a voter from PA, I think Specter is a great guy, a moderate Republican who was “independent” enough to cast a vote for the Stimulus package. Only I wish he, along with all the others who voted for the package, had added a few hundred more billion of pork (perhaps a trillion) because we are entitled to feel no pain or economic discomfort in our lifetimes!
But seriously, his latest vote has energized me to work at least a few hours each week to get this pathetic excuse for a representative out of office. Specter voted for this monstrosity because he wanted 10 billion more for the National Institute of Health for Cancer research. I guess because he had cancer, we should devote all our resources to an illness that afflicted him (and to hell with what his constituents wanted). If the funding for his pet projects meant voting for this abomination of a package, then so be it.
Specter has put yet another substantial nail in the coffin of this country, and has really screwed the next generation by adding to the mountain of debt already foisted upon them. I really cannot wait until he is gone.
LAD| 2.15.09 @ 2:05AM
I'm glad to see someone was insistant enough topresumably have that particular absurdity rmoved... however, hasn't obama already provided for a back door funding of a similar amont for acorn in his admonation that "all faith based initiatives" should be redirected to neighborhood organazations as they have a more direct influence... yeah.. right, vote liberal or hit the bricks... I cannot believe the amount of crap he is running past the star gazers as he begins dismantling any number of freedoms and free market access... drink the cool-aid my butt, their mainlining it...
Gene Douglas| 2.15.09 @ 7:57AM
Here are some facts on Democrat-controlled cities that are burdened by socialism and mired in poverty:
Detroit, MI (1st on the poverty rate list); no Republican mayor since 1961
Buffalo, NY (2nd on the poverty rate list); no Republican mayor since 1954
Cincinnati, OH (3rd on the poverty rate list); no Republican mayor since 1984
Cleveland, OH (4th on the poverty rate list); no Republican mayor since 1989
Miami, FL (5th on the poverty rate list); no Republican mayor ever
St. Louis, MO (6th on the poverty rate list); no Republican mayor since 1949
El Paso, TX (7th on the poverty rate list); no Republican mayor ever
Milwaukee, WI (8th on the poverty rate list); no Republican mayor since 1908
Philadelphia, PA (9th on the poverty rate list); no Republican mayor since 1952
Newark, NJ (10th on the poverty rate list); no Republican mayor since 1907
Einstein once said: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Skip Foss| 2.15.09 @ 10:42AM
I am glad that this spending has passed it will only serve to speed up the process that will show how stupid the nobamabots the Frankenstien they have given this country over to. When this socialist negro really shows his true colors and sells us out to the Jihadist that are just sitting waiting for him to give the take over sign. I will be waiting with my unregistered guns and ammo for the first raghead Islamist to show up.I fought hard and lost the use of my legs to keep this country free once the next fight will be to keep my family free and to hell with the rest
Maria S. Garrity| 2.15.09 @ 10:44AM
STOP STIMULUS, PORK AND EARMARKS. STOP ACORN FROM GETTING $ from stimulus.
OBAMA, MORE OF SAME-WASHINGTON BAD POLITICIAN-HIRES TAX CHEATS AND LOBBYISTS, LIES, LIES, LIES.
POOR AMERICANS HAVE TO PAY BACK LARGE STIMULUS
lonerider| 2.15.09 @ 1:18PM
Hey Gene the list is going to keep growing as The republican party is not waking up to thenew world. They still insist that Raygun will come back from the dead. I am sorry to say that the republican party is no longer relivant
Arlene Valentino | 2.15.09 @ 1:27PM
After reading the opinions from both sides I am really concerned about the future of America, not for myself, but for the innocent grandchildren of many Americans.
The rift between parties is so wide that
it will take years, if ever, to come to a
centrist viewpoint. Think for tomorrow not just for yourselves, today
Richard| 2.15.09 @ 5:49PM
It's hard to read these comments. How can there be such a difference of opinion and such rudeness about these people and their ideas or intentions.
stmichrick| 2.15.09 @ 7:13PM
Dear Richard;
Some people are rude because they are frustrated when arguing against fraud and deceit.
You see, these days, one side won't admit that they want the government solutions that have been proven time and again to be counterproductive. These individuals just feel good and more sophisticated when advocating them.
Thank you for your time;
stmichrick
Nick| 2.15.09 @ 7:33PM
Miss Valentino,
Conservative philosophy used to be the centrist viewpoint.
Nick| 2.15.09 @ 7:33PM
Miss Valentino,
Conservative philosophy used to be the centrist viewpoint.
Teresa| 2.16.09 @ 10:19AM
Obama does not love America. He has purposely associated himself with America-haters for his adult life. He has been brainwashed by socialist, communist America-haters and has this ideology that "rich white people" have done all the wrongs in the world. He has been elected because of America's preoccupation with Hollywood "celebrities" and "style-over-substance" mindset. He is wrong and, unfortunately, we, our children, and our grandchildren, and so on, will be paying the price for him taking our money to give to his and the other politicians' so they can use it to buy their next election. That's really great for America. Don't do what's right. Just have each gov't politician do what serves their self-interests best...forget the regular American citizens who have worked so hard to earn the money they're using. The money that Obama & his socialist party forcefully take from us who work to earn it. How great it is for them to take our money & tax & destroy the private sector so they can have the money & give it to their political allies (ACORN) so they can continue the cycle of buying and stealing elections. How can anyone be so blind to think that it's good for the gov't to be so BIG & controlling? It's supposed to be that the gov't works for us & does what we want, not the other way around. Unfortunately, Obama and his socialist worshippers have believed the socialist indoctrination that's been forced in our schools for many years thanks to liberal "educators" and America-haters on school textbook committees, including wealthy Saudis who paid to be on committees so they could propell their America-hate curriculum into universities. The school officials traded integrity and the security of America for the millions upon millions that the rich Saudis gave them. The Saudis' goal is, of course, to enforce global Islamic domination. The only good thing that will come out of that is that Obama's wife will eventually be covered head-to-toe in a burqua, like all American females will, and we won't have to look at her America-hating face. The socialist, anti-individualism, anti-capitalist, anti-American indoctrination has been propagated throughout our society by Hollywood, and it's sister, the liberal media, which worships Hollywood. That's why so many people have fallen for this Obama worship and socialism worship and earth worship. If Americans would wake up, stop caring about what Hollywood "stars" say, stop focusing their lives around what "celebrities" are doing, and focus on what's really happening, and see that America's foundational values that made us the beacon of freedom and land of opportunity for everyone...more than any othe place on earth, are being destroyed so failed socialist policies can be enforced. You can see what has happened to liberal-controlled American cities from the list above...eventually they go under. California is imploding because all of those liberal "give-away" entitlement policies cannot stand forever...somebody has to get up and work and pay taxes. All of those illegal aliens are taking work from Americans who would pay taxes, but they aren't paying taxes, but they are getting free healthcare, education (liberal indoctrination), housing, food stamps, use of infrastructure. How can that hold up forever? It can't. And then add on to that the American-worker-generated tax dollars spent to promote the homosexual agenda...what kind of payoff is CA getting for that? You can't have some people work and forcefully take their money and give it to those who don't work. You can't take the working people's money and give it to create huge bureaucracies (DHHS, DOEducation, etc) where people get their paycheck regardless of their performance...where there are no performance evaluations and nobody ever gets fired. DHHS has 68,000 employees and growing! And they don't have an efficient bone in their body. The place is a black hole of wasted tax dollars. What made America successful is being thrown out by liberal activist judges and politicians with the megaphone provided by the entertainment industry. Americans have been lulled to sleep and their country has been stolen...and our young people seem to care only about American Idol, celebrity gossip, and mean-spirited, immoral "reality" TV. Look where it's gotten us.
spade| 2.16.09 @ 11:07AM
my suspicion is that most of the people that comment on this page probably do not work and are fakes. (the few of you making actual arguments, you know who you are, i applaud you) i must admit, i took about 7 1/2 minutes out of my morning AT WORK ! to read through some of this garble....like nobama would say, i'm the president, i won, get used to it...or something along those lines. now for the challenged individuals...i fell very bad for you. most liberals i know lash out and often times carry a defensive verbal weapon attacking one personally, usually about about grammar and vocabulary. real hot political topics, i know. conversely and simply, conservatives usually tell it the way it is. what does that mean?
1. liberals are the tree hugging bleeding heart utopian believers that think pilot whales ought be saved from century old rituals but on the same hand think indian walleye spear fishing is okay. this should paint a pretty good picture, if you do not get it, you are probably a liberal.
1. on the otherhand, conservatives, because they tell things the way they are, get labeled as racists.
i must be a racist then.
for example:
let's party like rock stars and make thermos cups and lunch pails with obama's face on it while america watches. let's tell everyone how great we are because half of america voted for a half-black -half-white-man. by making it a point to point out that obama is black or partially black is the problem. he is nothing more than another politician who happens to be a democrat. people crying and whaling...are you kidding me? take the cash that was made on marketing obama from stickers to trapper keepers and "spread the wealth" to american TAX PAYING CITIZENS. this would be a great place for obama to practice what he preaches.
kant | 8.21.09 @ 2:29AM
liberals are the tree hugging bleeding heart utopian believers that think pilot whales ought be saved from century old rituals but on the same hand think indian walleye spear fishing is okay.
hgjhg| 11.24.09 @ 9:05PM
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