op ed review 9/26

THIS WEEK’S NEWS

A new national survey shows that independent voters are now moving strongly in the direction of the Republican Party. The survey raises the possibility of a fundamental realignment of independent voters and the dominance of a more conservative electorate. Today, independents say they lean more toward the Republican Party than the Democratic Party, 50% to 25%, and that the Republican Party is closer to their views by 52% to 30%.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703904304575497762602678210.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

Fifty-two percent (52%) of Likely U.S. Voters say their own views are closer to Sarah Palin’s than they are to President Obama’s, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/rasmussen-52-percent-of-voters-say-their-views-are-more-like-palins-than-obamas-103291029.html

A strong tide should lift Republicans to victories in Senate races, with polls pointing to an ever-expanding list of states in play. Of the seats now held by Democrats, Republicans have a good to excellent chance of winning Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/548302/201009231926/Senate-Battle-Lines-Still-Shifting-As-GOP-Races-For-Control.aspx

Republican Pat Toomey has inched closer to majority support, leading Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak 50 percent to 43 percent in the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20100922_Poll__Toomey_leads_Sestak_in_Senate_race.html?cmpid=41144277

Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle is tied with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at 43 percent in the latest poll of the Nevada Senate race from Mason-Dixon Polling & Research.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/09/24/reid_and_angle_tied_in_nevada_senate_race_107300.html

House Republicans announced an expansive agenda called "A Pledge to America" that proposes to shrink the size of government and reform Congress, offering a conservative plan of action they will pursue if they win a majority in the midterm elections.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/22/AR2010092206144.html

The Republican Pledge to America: (a pretty big download)

http://www.gop.gov/resources/library/documents/solutions/a-pledge-to-america.pdf

Jonah Goldberg analyzes the pledge: “Conservatives shouldn’t look at the Pledge as the sum total of the Republican agenda. They should see it as the opening bid.”

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/247631/gop-s-ante-jonah-goldberg

President Obama's approval rating has hit another all-time low

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/09/24/obama.approval.poll/

The President was heckled multiple times during his speech at a Democratic fundraiser in one of the country’s most Democratic cities.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42585.html

"I'm one of your middle class Americans. And quite frankly, I'm exhausted. Exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for," a woman told President Obama at a DC town hall meeting.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/09/20/cnbc_town_hall_questioner_to_obama_im_exhausted_of_defending_you.html

Last Sunday the Obama family attended church for only the third time in a year. What is not widely reported is that the speaker that day was a Muslim who spoke about the need for a two-state solution in the Middle East.

http://www.thepostemail.com/2010/09/20/obama-goes-to-church-to-hear-a-muslim-speaker/

President Obama told Bob Woodward in a July interview that he didn't think about the Afghan war in the "classic" terms of the United States winning or losing. During the interview the president said, "We can absorb a terrorist attack…”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/21/AR2010092106706_pf.html

While NASA is busy studying global warming and doing Muslim outreach, China has announced the timetable for their first manned moon landing, as well as the launch of a space station, lab and probes to explore Mars and Venus.

http://china.globaltimes.cn/society/2010-09/575264.html

At a House subcommittee hearing, Democrats passed a bill to require federal health officials to “obtain, retain and analyze sexual identity information from patients who seek (government) healthcare, including children.”

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=39076

The Justice Department is ignoring civil rights cases that involve white victims and wrongly abandoned a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party last year, a top department official said in prepared testimony Friday. He called the department's conduct a "travesty on justice."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/24/voting-rights-official-calls-black-panther-dismissal-travesty-justice/

In a 56-43 vote, Senate Democrats fell short of the 60 votes they needed to proceed to the 2011 defense authorization bill, which included language to repeal the Clinton-era “Don’t ask, don’t tell” law. All Senate Republicans and three Democrats voted to block debate on the bill.

http://thehill.com/news-by-subject/defense-homeland-security/120029-dadtnosenate-deals-blow-to-dont-ask-dont-tell-repeal

Here’s what Obama’s new “Gay Army” would have looked like: The Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff for personnel: "….these people opposing this new policy will need to get with the program, and if they can't, they need to get out. No matter how much training and education of those in opposition, you're always going to have those that oppose this on moral and religious grounds just like you still have racists today."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/sep/16/new-gay-army/

The Department of Homeland Security has wasted nearly a half billion dollars in taxpayer money on its current plans to develop technology to detect nuclear material being smuggled into the country, according to two recent GAO reports. “In this case, millions of dollars were wasted because one office did not talk to another office about what was needed……It's not good government, it's not best practices and in some cases it wasn't even common sense.”

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/23/reports-homeland-security-wasted-m-taxpayer-money-nuke-spending-border/?test=latestnews

Herman Cain is thinking about running for president, even though it’s likely you’ve never heard of him. The black Republican and former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza says he’s going to build a grassroots coalition of supporters from the bottom up.

http://dailycaller.com/2010/09/24/herman-cain-former-godfathers-pizza-ceo-is-contemplating-2012-run/

Part of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s belt-tightening plan for New Jersey was the termination of $7.5 million in public funding for Planned Parenthood clinics in the state, a decision Democrats in the legislature countermanded with a bill that cleared the Senate with a 30-10 vote — sufficient to override a veto. But when that veto came and the Democrats scheduled an override vote, Republicans in the legislature backed out, and the measure failed 23-17. Now, Planned Parenthood facilities in the state are shuttering their doors:

http://lucianne.com/thread/?artnum=566710

Just one and a half per cent of the UK population is gay or bisexual, well short of earlier Government estimates that put the proportion as high as seven per cent. This dispels the commonly held belief that one in ten men are homosexual, which stems from research into sexual behavior by Professor Kinsey in America during the 1940s and 50s.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/8020574/Gay-population-much-lower-than-believed-first-official-figures-show.html

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos have contributed $100,000 to defeat the Washington State income tax initiative 1098.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iuxQ-5VJatkI_StIK-ALBpQ-sHgAD9ICEV3G5

Conservative activists last Saturday picked Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) as their choice for president in 2012. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was voted the pick for vice president in 2012. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) was the runner-up in the straw poll very close behind Pence with a difference of 11 votes.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/polls/119583-pence-picked-as-best-presidential-material-at-conservative-summit

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THIS WEEK’S FEATURED COLUMN

National Review 9/20

With the primary season complete, the terms of battle are set — for the general election and for the next era in American politics.

Barack Obama’s election in 2008 was said to constitute the next great wave of progressivism after FDR and LBJ. But a massive electoral backlash is brewing against his policies, all his stimuli have manifestly failed, and his party is increasingly in intellectual and political disarray (witness its agony on extending the Bush tax cuts). Obama may only have set the table for the third wave of conservative reform, the first instituted by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s and the second (and less consequential) by Newt Gingrich in the mid-1990s.

Who gets their next wave, and makes it endure, is the stakes in this election and beyond. In this monumental contest, a revitalized limited-government conservatism that says — that insists — “enough” is arrayed against a progressivism that says, in the title of William Voegeli’s compelling book on the ever-voracious welfare state, “never enough.”

Obama Democrats have created facts on the ground over the last two years that will take long work to reverse, most significantly the health-care law. But everything that has happened since its passage has served to make its repeal more likely rather than less — it has remained unpopular; practically every week has brought news of another unintended consequence or noxious, previously un-noticed provision; and Democrats are running from it, in a favorite phrase of Haley Barbour’s, “like scalded dogs.”

More important, the Republican party has remained resolute in opposition and will be even more so after November. A great purifying fire raced through the Republican party during the primaries. While conservatives might disagree with one another over this or that tactical judgment–notably the one involved in last week’s Delaware primary–all of us should cheer this season’s renewed vigor. In different context, Andrew Mellon famously spoke of “purging the rottenness.” That’s what the primaries have done, exposing and expunging those Republicans who have no greater commitment than to their (rather undistinguished) careers.

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, now waging a write-in campaign, is the latest example. She began her Senate career on the strength of an unseemly act of nepotism (appointed by dear old dad) and will end it in an unseemly act of unprincipled desperation. Trading Murkowski, Arlen Specter, and Charlie Crist — all of whom lacked a minimal loyalty to party — for Joe Miller, Pat Toomey, and Marco Rubio will be a vast upgrade in talent, idealism, and persuasive power for Senate Republicans.

For years, conservatives have plaintively remarked, “if only we had another Reagan……” It was nostalgia as an excuse for not grappling with contemporary political circumstances. Not anymore. Conservatives have literally taken to the streets in a tea-party movement that doesn’t just reflect the political moment but largely defines it. If Democrats were foolhardy to take the 2008 election as a mandate for everything their hearts have ever desired, they were near-suicidal to persist in their course in the face of the tea-party protests of August 2009.

We can’t be sure exactly what the political landscape will look like after November, except that it will have shifted to the right. The stage will then be set for the fight for the presidency in 2012, which will be enormously consequential. In 2013, either President Obama consolidates his progressive achievements and builds on them in a way that irrevocably changes the country, or a conservative begins to return the country to its foundations. We are not even at the end of the beginning of this monumental contest, but win it, we must.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/247023/monumental-contest-editors

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FROM OTHER COLUMNS

“Washington elites' heads exploded when Christine O'Donnell won the Republican Senate primary in Delaware last week….They say O'Donnell has a problem because she's never held a job in the private sector (like our president), didn't pay her taxes (like our treasury secretary), and had her house foreclosed on (like half of the electorate). They also accuse her of saying crazy things -- but she's running for Joe Biden's old seat, so this may be an advantage. This week, all we've heard about is how O'Donnell once said she went on a date with a guy in high school who claimed to be a witch. (So what? Bill Clinton married one!).... I haven't seen hypocrisy like this since -- oh, that's right, since last week when CBS's Bob Schieffer attacked John Boehner for smoking, after two years of the media's ferociously avoiding the topic of Obama's cigarette habit.”

-Ann Coulter

"They're making a bundle inside the Beltway, while across the country it takes $2 million to create a pothole-filling job. Never has Washington spent so much to get so little real work. When the Democrats are in charge, the rich just get richer. Wait -- isn't that what we're supposed to say about Republicans? Not so when federal stimulus funds are being spent. Washington has taken trickle-down economics to a whole new level of inefficiency. Those closest -- literally -- to the seat of federal power get the most. By the time the funds make their long journey to paychecks for people doing productive work, there's not a whole lot left.”

-Investor's Business Daily

"Jimmy Carter told CBS News Thursday that Senator Teddy Kennedy killed his health care reform bill thirty years ago to deny him credit for it. Don't blame the senator. The health care reform bill knew better than to get into the car with Teddy when he'd been drinking."

-Argus Hamilton

"[I]f the recession has been over for 15 months, and this is how Obama and his handmaiden, Joe Biden, describe a recovery; then we should all party like it's 1929."

-Rich Galen

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LEFTIST WATCH

In a very unusual move, University of Illinois trustees denied giving emeritus status to controversial retired professor William Ayers. The vote was unanimous and came after a passionate speech by board chair Christopher Kennedy, son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who said he could not confer the title "to a man whose body of work includes a book dedicated in part to the man who murdered my father." Kennedy was referring to a 1974 book co-authored by Ayers, which was dedicated to a long list of people including Robert Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan and "all political prisoners in the U.S."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/ct-met-ayers-denied-emeritus-20100923,0,5045265.story

The UK's tax collection agency is putting forth a proposal that all employers send employee paychecks to the government, after which the government would deduct what it deems as the appropriate tax and pay the employees what’s left.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39265847

So chanting “USA, USA” at a football game is now jingoistic and anti Muslim? According to this University of Illinois professor, the answer is yes. He was also offended by the military plane flyover before the game.

http://www.dailyillini.com/opinions/letters-to-the-editor/2010/09/15/block-i-chant-portrays-neither-patriotism-nor-remembrance

“Communism has been proclaimed dead more than once in the past couple of decades. But today, it's safe to say, it is really dead. Irreversibly dead. Cemetery dead. Consider this comment from a knowledgeable Cuban observer who was asked if the country's brand of socialism, created by Fidel Castro after his 1959 revolution, could be of use in other countries: "The Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore." That remark would have gotten him in trouble with authorities, if his name were not Fidel Castro. There may yet be admirers of Cuban communism in certain precincts of Berkeley or Cambridge, but it's hard to find them in Havana….”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-oped-0919-chapman-20100919,0,4342554.column

At least for a few moments last week, we had the strange spectacle of President Obama sounding more like a collectivist than Fidel Castro.

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/547856/201009201845/Statists-Fidel-Castro-And-Barack-Obama-And-The-Irrationality-Of-Central-Planning.aspx

Vladimir Lenin said that westerners too dumb to recognize his plans to "hang them" would "sell me the rope -- on credit." And they did, engaging in decades of excuse-making for Communist totalitarianism. But without the Soviets around, the American left needed new anti-western totalitarians to mollify, and the leaders of militant Islam satisfied that itch.

http://spectator.org/archives/2010/09/23/the-sharia-compliant-american

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ISLAM

“This study is the result of months of analysis, discussion and drafting by a group of top security policy experts (including a former Director of the CIA) concerned with the preeminent totalitarian threat of our time: the legal-political-military doctrine known within Islam as "shariah." It is designed to provide a comprehensive and articulate "second opinion" on the official characterizations and assessments of this threat as put forth by the United States government.”

http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/p18523.xml

“A week has passed since the report “Shariah: The Threat to America” was released and the only reaction seems to be coming from Islamic sites…..America desperately needs this document. I cannot think of a better way to educate the population. If only they would read it. Once they have read it even the staunchest liberals will be forced to pause and think.”

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/09/why_is_there_no_reaction_to_sh.html

The Ground Zero mosque imam was caught on microphone in 2006 speaking about his “game plan” for achieving an Islamic State without borders, which — in his mind — has previously existed and should have continued to exist, if not for Western interference in the last century. The imam also discussed some of his other objectives which include: (1) manipulating U.S. foreign policy, (2) advocating for Hamas and (3) getting “power” on his side to push back the opposing “interests.”

http://frontpagemag.com/2010/09/22/ground-zero-imam-exposed-off-mic/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_campaign=8b8db51af8-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email

Larry Elder: “What happens when an Australian Muslim cleric calls for the beheading of a Dutch politician? Not much. What happens when an American pastor no one ever heard of threatens to burn a Quran? It ignites an international outcry.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1181170

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BOOKS, FILES

Early in his administration, President Reagan confidently asserted that "America's best days lie ahead." At the time it was true, but noted economist Thomas Sowell thinks it's no longer the case. In his new book, "Dismantling America," Sowell argues that this nation is becoming one that many Americans no longer recognize as the country they grew up in or expected to pass on to their children and grandchildren. Rather, like Rome, America may be entering a prolonged period of decline. Sowell sat down with IBD recently to discuss the political, social and economic forces that are leading to this decline and what, if anything, can reverse it.

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/548149/201009221917/America-In-Decline-Sowell-Says-Citing-Spending-And-Intl-Policy.aspx

“Never Enough: America's Limitless Welfare State” by William Voegeli. “William Voegeli may be the most valuable, engaging and original critic of liberalism writing today….Never Enough answers questions most people struggle even to articulate,.” says Jonah Goldberg. “Even though the federal government’s outlays have doubled every eighteen years since 1940, liberal rhetoric is always addressed to a nation trapped in Groundhog Day, where every year is 1932, and none of the existing welfare state programs that spend tens of billions of dollars matter, or even exist…..Never Enough explores the roots and consequences of liberals’ aphasia about the welfare state’s ultimate size. It assesses what liberalism’s lack of a limiting principle says about the long-running argument between liberals and conservatives…. Never Enough argues that the failure to speak clearly and candidly about the welfare state’s limits has grave policy consequences. The worst result, however, is the way it has jeopardized the experiment in self-government by encouraging Americans to regard their government as a vehicle for exploiting their fellow-citizens, rather than as a compact for respecting one another’s rights and safeguarding the opportunities of future generations.”

http://www.amazon.com/Never-Enough-Americas-Limitless-Welfare/dp/1594033765/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285352911&sr=8-1

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ACTIVISM

Kirby Wilbur: “The election is six weeks from tomorrow, and it’s time, we need your help. Our November is Coming campaign plans on distributing voter education material in a number of legislative districts around the state by door dropping key precincts and calling voters. We cannot achieve success and change the destructive policies of Congress and the state legislature without you. It’s time to stop the talk and do the walk! Please, contact us today at afpwa2010@gmail.com and volunteer to help educate voters in these districts. To restore America by returning to free market and limited government policies. This is the most important election in our lifetimes. Wake up the morning of Wednesday, November 3rd, knowing you made a difference.”

Jim Geraghty of National Review lists twenty House candidates who can use your support. Two of them are here in Washington State.

John Koster, Washington's 2nd district: "Koster outpolled Larsen by 298 votes in the August primary and last week earned recognition from the National Republican Congressional Committee, which paves the way for party financing in the general election. Koster has raised almost $500,000, still far below Larsen's $1.1 million but enough to boost Koster's profile nationally.

Jaime Herrera, Washington's 3rd district: Already, huge amounts of money are being committed to this race: "The National Republican Campaign Committee, upping the ante in the closely watched 3rd congressional district race, confirmed last week that it will spend $900,000 on TV ads in the Portland media market to support state Rep. Jaime Herrera. Last week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced it had reserved $650,000 in air time for TV ads backing the Democratic candidate.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/247180/twenty-candidates-who-need-help-jim-geraghty?page=3

Geraghty should have listed this one as well:

Dick Muri is within three percentage points of incumbent Democrat Adam Smith….Stretching from Renton to Tacoma to Olympia, the 9th district has been represented by Smith for 14 years. In the August primary, the Democrat got 51%. But in that election, Republicans split their vote between two candidates and now, it appears the Republican vote has united behind Dick Muri, a former Air Force officer and Pierce County Councilmember.

http://blog.thenewstribune.com/politics/2010/09/20/king-tvsurvey-usa-polls-has-9th-district-race-closer-than-thought/#ixzz10Cg9s6es

Lets make Washington a red state again! Call, make a donation, and ask them how you can help!

http://www.kosterforcongress.com/

http://www.jaimeherrera.com/

http://www.dickmuri.com/

Seattle Times endorses 1053: “INITIATIVE 1053, which would require a two-thirds vote of each house of the Legislature on any bill to raise taxes, or a majority vote of the public, will be on the November ballot…. and The Seattle Times supports it. The people have supported a two-thirds requirement three times already, and the Legislature has at various times set it aside. We believe the people will support it again.”

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorials/2012415318_edit22initiative1053.html

Oprah Winfrey has joined the nationwide movement to expand charter schools. “I am giving to each of these charter school networks the sum of $1 million. A million dollars to you, to you, to you, to you, to you, and to you. YAAAY!" Oprah was joined by Bill Gates and Michelle Rhee. They discussed the new documentary "Waiting for Superman," soon showing everywhere across the nation. This documentary shows that union interests block the growth of charter schools in every state. Olympia lawmakers have made charters illegal, so Washington's students will not receive any of the support pouring into these schools from Oprah, Bill Gates, and Goldman Sachs. This money will instead be spent in the 40 states which permit charter schools. Students in Washington will continue to stand on the sidelines, watching as adult union interests repeatedly veto their chances at a charter school education.”

http://washingtonpolicyblog.typepad.com/washington_policy_center_/2010/09/state-ban-means-washington-students-lose-out-as-oprah-hands-out-6-million-for-charter-schools.html

“Waiting for Superman” is opening locally next weekend. Stand for Children and Washington Policy Center are offering free tickets for Fri, Oct 1, 5:30pm at AMC Theater in Pacific Place, 600 Pine, Seattle and Sat Oct 2, 5:30 at Lincoln Square Cinema in Bellevue. To get free tickets, rsvp by Sept 27^th to aerekson@stand.org

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GLOBALONEY

From the administration that brought you "man-caused disaster" and "overseas contingency operation," another terminology change is in the pipeline. The White House wants the public to start using the term "global climate disruption" in place of "global warming".

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/16/white-house-global-warming-global-climate-disruption/

The future King of England: "I happily talk to the plants and trees, and listen to them. I think it's absolutely crucial," the prince says. "Everything I've done here, it's like almost with your children. Every tree has a meaning for me."

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/prince-charles-eavesdrops-tourists-speaks-plants/story?id=11679656

If not disposed of properly, CFL light bulbs, which Congress is mandating as an energy efficient alternative to incandescent bulbs, may poison you, contaminate your food and water supply, destroy the environment and kill your children. If light bulbs were regulated like cigarettes, this is what it might say on the side of the box of “environmentally friendly” bulbs that you just picked up at Target.

http://dailycaller.com/2010/09/23/how-many-congressmen-does-it-take-to-screw-in-a-light-bulb/

With the ignominious collapse of cap and trade legislation in the Senate, the climate campaign is licking its wounds and wondering where it went wrong. Greens are pointing fingers at the bad economy, the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, and those dastardly Earth-hating Republicans. But they ought to look in the mirror, for the fault lies with themselves. Politico’s environmental reporter Darren Samuelsohn quoted an anonymous White House official speaking disdainfully about the climate campaign’s efforts: “They didn’t deliver a single Republican. They spent like $100 million, and they weren’t able to get a single Republican convert on the bill.”

http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/environmental-hazards

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ARTICLES

Grover Norquist’s advice to conservatives: “Between now and the November 2 election there are several dangers that stand between conservatives and the overwhelming victory that present polls predict. The first threat flows from complacency, hubris, laziness, a sense that victory is already ours. The polling data tell us that Americans want to vote for Republican more than Democrats, against those who voted for Obamacare and for those who oppose higher taxes. Of course, this assumes that “present trends continue.” If we work hard, harder and hardest then today’s cheerful polling data can be the harbinger of victory when real votes by real people are counted on November 2. The second threat is that of distraction by “shiny things.” Many issues pop up and politicians and talk show hosts are intrigued and tempted to spend precious minutes talking about new and exciting issues rather than focus on the spending that threatens our future.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/09/21/grover-norquist-way-forward-conservatives-november-election-newt-gingrich/

“The press is obsessed that Delaware Republican Senate nominee, Christine O'Donnell said that as a high-school student she hung out with kids who styled themselves witches. For this we're now to conclude that she's unfit to serve in the Congress of the United States A body composed of individuals of the most admirable rectitude. Apparently none of them ever did anything silly in high school. Furthermore, we do know that O'Donnell similarly falls short of standards set by Democratic law makers and chief executives because she never drove drunk off a bridge.”

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/09/things_christine_odonnell_didn.html

“The same media that didn’t give a damn what Barack Obama did during the first 46 years of his life when he was running for president (except that he was organizing communities) is now in a full scale sprint to find out what Republican candidates did as kids.”

http://bigjournalism.com/rfutrell/2010/09/20/so-msm-what-did-you-do-in-high-school/

“The Tea Party victories of last week have clearly revealed the movement for what it actually is: not a tantrum, not a voter mutiny, not a short-term insurrection, but something never actually seen before in this country -- it is a counter-revolution.”

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/09/the_counterrevolution_has_begu.html

“The media doesn’t get it, says Kirsten Powers. The Tea Party crowd is about to radically reshape the Republican Party on a scale not seen since Barry Goldwater in the 1960s. It’s time to stop mocking the Tea Party. Whether they are loons, principled conservatives, or a mix of both, they are a potent force that won’t be intimidated off the national stage by snarky media coverage and clueless attacks from the establishment.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-09-16/stop-ridiculing-the-tea-party/?cid=hp:beastoriginalsC4

The Tea Party Patriots' Facebook page, had 436,767 fans as of Wednesday. That compares with 135,726 Facebook fans of the Republican Party and 122,099 fans of the official Facebook page for the Democratic Party, acclaimed for using the Internet and other technology two years ago to carry President Obama and others into office.

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/548152/201009221919/Tea-Party-Movement-A-Political-Tsunami-Thanks-To-Internet.aspx

Examiner Editorial: Obamacare is even worse than critics thought. Obamacare won't decrease health care costs for the government. As written, Obamacare covers elective abortions, contrary to Obama's promise that it wouldn't. Obamacare won't allow employees or most small businesses to keep the coverage they have and like. Obamacare will increase insurance premiums -- in some places, it already has. Obamacare will force seasonal employers -- especially the ski and amusement park industries -- to pay huge fines, cut hours, or lay off employees. Obamacare forces states to guarantee not only payment but also treatment for indigent Medicaid patients. Obamacare imposes a huge nonmedical tax compliance burden on small business. Obamacare allows the IRS to confiscate part or all of your tax refund if you do not purchase a qualified insurance plan.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/Obamacare-is-even-worse-than-critics-thought-960772-103571664.html#ixzz10MaeU0yK

“We now have confirmation that Barack Obama truly loves poor people. Because he is creating so many of them. The Census Bureau reports that America suffers with more people in poverty now than ever before in its history of reporting on poverty -- 44 million. That's up nearly 4 million in the last year alone, with the poverty rate shooting up to 14.3%. One in seven Americans now suffers in poverty. That follows the report that foreclosures hit their all time high in August, up 25% over a year earlier in August, 2009”

http://spectator.org/archives/2010/09/22/the-disgrace-of-the-ruling-cla

To the working class citizens of Bell, California, their hard-earned cash got them a sleazy, overpaid and corrupt government run by Democrats. The government officials got rich. Today, thankfully, eight of them – every single one a Democrat – also got arrested. Former City Manager Robert Rizzo, who earned nearly $800,000 a year, was joined in the pokey by the mayor, two council members, two former council members, an assistant city manger and, my favorite, the “vice mayor.”

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/09/21/bell-chime-freedom/

The final word on which is the “party of the rich’: “Wealthy individuals voted for Obama, Wealthy counties voted for Obama, Wealthy states voted for Obama…..The problem is that the Democrats try to position themselves as the party of the poor and demonize the Republican Party as that of the rich. The fact is, the Democrats are the buddies of the rich elite and heavily supported by them - and in fact most of their politicians consist of the rich.”

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/Examiner-Opinion-Zone/Party-of-the-rich-103092754.html#ixzz0znYcK1xM

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NOTEWORTHY WEBSITES

The Mama Grizzly is going hunting. Sarah Palin is celebrating the six-month anniversary of Obamacare by creating a website targeting Democrats who backed "Obamacare." The website’s aim is to kick out 20 Democratic members of Congress who voted for Obama's health care bill and who came from districts that the McCain-Palin won in 2008.

http://www.takebackthe20.com/

Sarah on Facebook: “Lies, Damned Lies – Obamacare 6 Months Later..”

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=433315368434

Sarah explains the Tea Party in a new video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X67qgNtZPdQ

PoliticalFables has an excellent video out entitled "Defeating the Obama Machine."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H64N_uYA35Y

A powerful new anti-Barack Obama ad that seeks to tap not the nation's anger but its sadness. "Mourning in America," is a poignant takeoff of Ronald Reagan's iconic "Morning in America".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YXqf_6ug54

“Not recommended for anyone with eye trouble of any kind.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EER9Vno3Cjo

The cutest political ad you’ve ever seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGqq7pYzrjA

Gansta Government:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmBjG7ALvjc

Launch of the world’s largest (36 feet) amateur rocket, built in a garage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj4lj6YSwzg

The Ambassadors of Harmony, barbershop chorus champions:

http://lucianne.com/article/?pageid=shave_and_a_haircut

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LATE NITE

Jay Leno: Larry Summers, President Obama's top economic adviser, is stepping down. Finally, some good economic news….. I wanted to watch "Dancing With the Stars" last night, but I have Direct TV and I signed up for the "heterosexual programming package."….. Al-Qaida’s No. 2 has released another tape in which he criticized the Pakistani government. He calls them incompetent and corrupt, and demands that they be thrown out of office. Sounds like they have a tea party over there too….. Apparently the recession ended last June. So for those of you that are still broke and without a job, it’s all in your head.

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WISE WORDS

"The history of government management of money has, except for a few short happy periods, been one of incessant fraud and deception."

-Fredrich von Hayek

"It is not the function of the government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error."

-Justice Robert H. Jackson

"The same prudence which in private life would forbid our paying our own money for unexplained projects, forbids it in the dispensation of the public moneys."

-Thomas Jefferson

op ed review 9/19

THIS WEEK’S NEWS

Establishment Washington got yet another whipping as "the unelectable" Christine O'Donnell -- supported by Sarah Palin and the Tea Parties -- rallied to convincingly beat RINO Mike Castle in Delaware's Republican primary for Senate. “Castle, we were told by the powers that be, was the only electable Republican -- and his loss is already being mourned by ‘Beltway conservatives’…”

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/09/delaware_crosses_the_washingto.html

In a clear sign of the grassroots pressure on Republican leaders, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn on Wed. put out a statement embracing O'Donnell -- a dramatic contrast with his group's curt response the night before -- and writing her a big check. “It's a remarkable reversal, and a vivid illustration that the base is in charge and has the leadership running scared.”

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0910/Cornyn_embraces_ODonnell.html

The victory of O’Donnell is the fourth defeat for the so-called “establishment” Republican candidates in a primary this year — preceded by Rand Paul in Kentucky, Sharron Angle in Nevada, and Joe Miller in Alaska. That’s the East Coast, a border state, the Southwest, and way the hell and gone — an unmistakable demonstration that the Republican Party is reconstituting itself in an unprecedented fashion.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/jpodhoretz/357216

Sen. Jim DeMint dismissed worries by some of his fellow Republicans that tea party-backed politicians like O'Donnell are too conservative to win in November. "You can't change Washington unless you change people who are here," he said. "People are ready to throw out the bums."

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/ap/demint-says-tea-party-candidates-like-delawares-odonnell-can-win-in-november-103040299.html#ixzz0zidfXwnX

“Rush Limbaugh added an interesting footnote to our disagreement with Mark Levin on the Delaware..primary contest. We thought that Rep. Mike Castle was the preferable candidate under William Buckley's rule of thumb that conservatives ought to support the rightwardmost VIABLE candidate in a given race. Levin supported Christine O'Donnell as the rightwardmost candidate in the race. Yesterday Rush expressed his disagreement with the Buckley rule and suspended it in favor of the Limbaugh Rule: "In an election year when voters are fed up with liberalism, you vote for the most conservative Republican in the primary -- period."

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/09/027230.php

On Wednesday, Mitt Romney’s PAC endorsed O’Donnell. It also is sending her campaign a maximum $5,000 contribution.

http://www.freestrongamerica.com/%3E

The O’Donnell campaign has raised $1M in 24 hours since the primary.

http://christine2010.com/

Gallup has released a new poll asking respondents to assess the major accomplishments of Congress in the last two years. The pollsters found majority opposition to almost everything.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/The-public-hates-almost-everything-Congress-has-done-102761814.html

Only 34 percent of registered voters say their own member of Congress deserves re-election.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20016599-503544.html

Republican candidate Marco Rubio has opened a clear lead in a Florida Senate race, becoming the latest Tea Party favorite to benefit from voter anger at Washington.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68E55P20100915

Republican Chris Dudley is widening the gap over his Democratic opponent, John Kitzhaber, in the race for Oregon’s governor.

http://www.katu.com/news/local/103002074.html

Businessman Ron Johnson now holds a seven-point lead over incumbent Democrat Russ Feingold in Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate race.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/wisconsin/election_2010_wisconsin_senate

The anomaly is Washington State, where Sen. Patty Murray’s attack ads are taking their toll. A new Elway Poll has Murray back up 50-41% over Republican challenger Dino Rossi. What’s the matter with Washington?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politicsnorthwest/2012888259_new_elway_poll_has_murray_with.html?syndication=rss

On the heels of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's announcement that he wants to put up an immigration reform measure up for a vote next week, his Republican opponent Sharron Angle is out with a new ad calling Reid "the best friend an illegal alien ever had."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20016503-503544.html

Sen. Reid rolled up to the Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada last week in a fleet of giant SUVs.

http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/watercooler/index.php?blogid=667#ixzz0zYbAbThR

The Obama administration has begun implementing a backdoor amnesty through selective enforcement of U.S. immigration law. A leaked internal memorandum entitled “Administrative Alternatives to Comprehensive Immigration Reform” revealed a series of “deferred action” plans to sidestep legislative requirements.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=38968

President Obama is preparing to attend a United Nations summit next week to endorse “innovative finance mechanisms”—global taxes—to drain even more wealth out of the U.S. economy.

http://www.aim.org/aim-column/obama-endorses-global-taxes-on-eve-of-u-n-summit/

One in seven Americans is living in poverty, the highest number in the half-century that the government has kept such statistics.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/16/AR2010091602698_pf.html

Your tax dollars at work: Feds spent $800,000 of economic stimulus funds on an “African Genital-Washing Program”

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/75198

Closer to home, you might be surprised to hear King County residents still owe $82M on the Kingdome, demolished over ten years ago.

http://www.nwcn.com/news/Seattle-King-County-Kingdome-102679614.html

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THIS WEEK’S FEATURED COLUMN

No More ‘Lesser of Two Evils’

By Arnold Ahlert 9/17

I don't know which is more amusing: Democrats assuming that any candidate with Tea Party backing is certifiable, or Republicans upset with the idea that RINOs are slowly becoming an endangered species within their own party. One thing is certain: the movement both sides are trying to discredit is revealing what's really in play come November. Ordinary Americans, the very same folks who engender the bipartisan contempt of Beltway insiders, have decided that one of the oldest pieces of conventional wisdom with respect to voting — as in "choosing the lesser of two evils" — doesn't cut it anymore.

With respect to the two parties, Democrats have far more to fear from the Tea Party movement than Republicans do. The movement, which is completely centered around the idea of limited government and reduced spending, is utterly at odds with a party dedicated to exactly the opposite.

Yet there is something far deeper at work here that makes it even worse for Obama and company. The motivation underlying the above-mentioned concepts is a fundamental belief that they represent a return to traditional Constitutional principles, and perhaps more importantly, American exceptionalism. It is the Tea party movement which envisions the greatness of America. It is the Democrat party and its presidential standard-bearer who have made it clear that calculating the plusses and minuses of two hundred and thirty four years of American history nets out on the negative side of the ledger. It is Democrats who consider America a hopelessly racist, bigoted and xenophobic nation in need of a thorough, progressive reboot.

That odious attitude alone, coupled with the imperious arrogance that has accompanied it for four years in Congress and two in the Oval Office, has millions of Americans seething. They get even angrier when that attitude is enshrined by a mainstream media cheering squad who are just as detestable — and just as detested.

The Republican establishment isn't much better. Only a guru-cum-establishment-hack such as Karl Rove could see the toppling of "reasonable" Mike Castle — so reasonable he's refused to back primary winner Christine O'Donnell — as bad for the party, because she may not win. Hey Karl, you know what's worse for the party? Running a tiresome RINO like John McCain for president and giving the electorate the worst "lessor of two evils" choice in modern American history. Perhaps some day you and the other clueless types who attached the word "compassionate" to conservative, may figure out you ran the Republican brand into the ground with such duplicitous nonsense. George W. Bush was barely a conservative. John McCain wasn't even close.

The electorate noticed, and decided to go with the younger liberal in 2008 — topping off their refutation of tax-and-spend Republicans in 2006. Barack Obama and Democrats won? More like Republicans lost — big.

Now that Democrats have proved even more loathsome, many of you think you can go back to RINO business as usual. Fat chance.

The voters have had more than enough of the idea that there's not "dime's worth of difference" between the two parties. While the Beltway "intelligentsia" and the media chatterers are waxing philosophical about the "true meaning" of Tea Party-ism, Americans are struggling to survive. So they're looking for new faces.

Perhaps the most laughable aspect of the so-called wisdom regarding Tea Party candidates is the idea that some of them aren't perfect. Compared to whom? Harry Reid? Barbara Boxer? Charlie Crist?

Christine O'Donnell has skeletons in her closet? What do Charlie Rangel or Maxine Waters have in theirs?

Almost as laughable is the Democrats' and their media allies' contention that the Republican party is being hijacked by "radical elements." Again, compared to whom? The most radical leftist president in American history? How about the party which wants to legalize 20-30 million border-busters, tax the air we exhale, turn the best health care system in the world into a bureaucratic nightmare, or make people ashamed of wanting to get ahead?

Once again for the truly obtuse: the Tea Party isn't a political entity as much as it's a philosophical one. The great irony is that it's anti-establishment precisely because the political establishment, the one which ought to represent core American values and traditions, has prostituted itself beyond recognition. Perhaps some of the Tea Party-backed candidates will lose races that "moderate" Republicans might have won. So what. No re-alignment happens overnight. But better a future where there really are stark differences between the parties, one where voters are offered genuinely clear choices. Better a day when the "lesser of two evils" plays a minor role in American politics. Better a future where voters can pull a lever with one hand — -without being forced to hold their noses with the other.

http://jewishworldreview.com/0910/ahlert.php3

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FROM OTHER COLUMNS

"Why has the left directed so much time and effort into demonizing ordinary Americans? Because the Tea Party's three primary planks -- limited government, fiscal responsibility and Constitutional fealty -- represent the greatest threat to liberalism since its flowering in the 1960s. A smaller, fiscally responsible government dedicated to a Constitution expressly designed to limit the power of the state is the death knell for those dedicated to the idea their worldview must be imposed on Americans by an ever-expanding state. The left's worst nightmare is an America comprised of largely self-sufficient, clear-thinking individuals left to their own devices."

-Arnold Ahlert

"While America's liberal elite have not reached the depths of tyrants such as Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Hitler, they share a common vision and, as such, differ only in degree but not kind. Both denounce free markets and voluntary exchange. They are for control and coercion by the state. They believe they have superior wisdom to the masses and they have been ordained to forcibly impose that wisdom on the rest of us. They, like any other tyrant, have what they see as good reasons for restricting the freedom of others."

-Walter E. Williams

"If you read this weekend's New York Times' hit job on would-be Speaker John Boehner and his 'lobbyist friends,' you might think, as the reporter clearly thinks, that John Boehner is cozier with lobbyists than most powerful politicians are. But did you know: · Nancy Pelosi has raised almost twice as much money from lobbyists this election as Boehner has? · At least 18 House Democrats have raised more lobbyist cash this election than Boehner has. · Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid have pocketed more lobbyist cash in the past 18 months than Boehner has raised in the past 6 elections, combined?"

-Timothy Carney

"As European socialism implodes, for some reason a new statist U.S. government wants to copy failure by taking over ever more of the economy and borrowing trillions more dollars to provide additional entitlements. As panicky old allies look for American protection, we talk of slashing our defense budget. In apologetic fashion, we spend more time appeasing confident enemies than buttressing worried friends."

-Victor Davis Hanson

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LEFTIST WATCH

White House Office of Science and Technology Director John P. Holdren says he wants to “de-develop the United States.” to meet the “realities of ecology and the global resource situation”.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/75388

On September 11th, Michael Moore posted an article on his blog entitled “If the ‘Mosque’ Isn’t Built, This Is No Longer America.” It began with his assertion that he was opposed to the building of the Islamic community center two blocks from Ground Zero because he actually wants it built ON Ground Zero.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/michael-moore-build-mosque-right-on-ground-zero/

"[I]t's both instructive and discouraging to look at the state of America circa 1938 -- instructive because the nature of the recovery that followed refutes the arguments dominating today's public debate, discouraging because it's hard to see anything like the miracle of the 1940s happening again."

-New York Times columnist Paul Krugman

("What Krugman calls 'the miracle of the 1940s' is more commonly known as World War II, a ruinous conflict that cost some 60 million lives, including more than 400,000 American ones, and that entailed the near-extermination of Europe's Jewish population." -WSJ columnist James Taranto)

“Our state cannot and should not continue maintaining companies, productive entities, services and budgeted sectors with bloated payrolls (and) losses that hurt our economy. Job options will be increased and broadened with new forms of non-state employment, among them leasing land, cooperatives and self-employment, absorbing hundreds of thousands of workers in the coming years.” Did the Obama administration and our Democratically-controlled Congress suddenly come to their senses? Did Republicans finally come up with a concrete agenda for the upcoming November election? Did some Tea Party candidate burnish his conservative credentials? No, no, and no. Unbelievable as it may seem, the above statement was released by the official labor federation–of Cuba. The Communist regime has announced plans to “downsize” their public sector workforce by more than 500,000 employees, and then attempt to reemploy those workers into the private sector. And that’s just the beginning. Cuba announced that more than one million government jobs would eventually be cut, and that there will be fewer state-sector openings in the future.

http://frontpagemag.com/2010/09/16/cuba-disses-socialism/

“Cuba announced Monday it will shed five hundred thousand government bureaucrats and allow private businesses to start hiring. This is big news. We've just learned that the private sector is going to come back in America but it's going to take fifty years.

-comedian Argus Hamilton

__________________________________________________________________________

ISLAM

A Seattle cartoonist has had to change her identity and disappear because of a fatwa issued against her this summer, following her infamous "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" cartoon.

http://www.seattleweekly.com/2010-09-15/news/on-the-advice-of-the-fbi-cartoonist-molly-norris-disappears-from-view/

“The firestorm of controversy that surrounded the ultimately unrealized plans of an obscure Florida pastor to burn a few copies of the Qur’an was truly remarkable, without any analog in the modern world. If Terry Jones had announced an intention to put any other book in the world to the torch, no one would have taken any notice, much less threatened to set off a firestorm of righteous indignation. The fact that this one book, and only this book, could provoke such a ludicrously disproportionate reaction ought to tell us much more about the people who believe in that book than it does about the people who question its authenticity and authority.”

http://frontpagemag.com/2010/09/15/islams-burning-rage/

The Taliban are using pages torn from the Koran to package heroin sold on the streets by kids.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2010/sep/13/taliban-deface-koran-sell-heroin/

The Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker has updated from 72 to 2.5 million the number of virgins waiting for “martyrs” upon their arrival “in the Garden of Eden.” The speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, said the “palace” where the virgins are waiting can be entered “only by prophets, by the righteous, and by martyrs."

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/139614

“My organization… just released a video showing 6th graders from Wellesley, MA as they rise from prostrating themselves alongside Muslim men in a prayer to Allah while on a public school field trip to the largest mosque in the Northeast. Teachers did not intervene. Parents have not been told…..”

http://bigpeace.com/cjacobs/2010/09/16/school-trip-to-moderate-mosque-inside-video-captures-kids-bowing-to-allah/

The Texas State Board of Education will consider a resolution next week that would warn publishers not to push a pro-Islamic, anti-Christian viewpoint in world history textbooks.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/091510dntexeducation.28d07a4.html

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BOOKS, FILES

"Bought and Paid For: The Unholy Alliance Between Barack Obama and Wall Street." by Charlie Gasparino.

http://www.amazon.com/Bought-Paid-Unholy-Alliance-Between/dp/1595230718/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1284766538&sr=8-1

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ACTIVISM

Prominent conservatives from across the U.S. will meet Friday through Sunday in Washington, D.C. at an event that has grown to be the leading gathering for pro-family policies and other important issues facing the nation. He 2010 Values Voter Summit, explains that though many are concerned about the economy, other serious issues, like marriage and life, must be addressed.

http://www.valuesvotersummit.org/

A message at the website says the Freedom Summit Challenge, scheduled for Sept 25^th at Tacoma, has been cancelled.

http://thefreedomsummitchallenge.com/

This is your best chance ever to get rid of Patty Murray.

http://www.dinorossi.com/

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ARTICLES

Now the tea party movement approaches a new hurdle: how to turn primary successes against establishment Republicans into general election victories against Democrats. Amy Kremer, chair of the Tea Party Express -- which gave O'Donnell key support in Delaware -- says that plan doesn't exist yet….. a month and a half away from the Nov. 2 deadline, that uncertainty could prove fatal to the political interests of fiscal responsibility and limited government that the Tea Party has been advocating for a year and a half. Reagan scholar and former political strategist Craig Shirley says that upending fellow Republicans and beating Democrats are two different challenges, and the Tea Party's experience lies primarily in the former.

http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2010/09/next_electoral.php

In reaction to the Christine O'Donnell win and the part that Sarah Palin and Jim DeMint played in it, veteran consultant Mark Murphy snarked that he too was a conservative -- but that he "could do the math." The point from Murphy was that conservatives like Palin and DeMint are not smart enough to do the math that a Mike Castle win in Delaware is really what conservatives needed. There have been three great elections for Republicans in modern history -- '80, '84 and '94 -- and all three were the result of a wave of conservatism. There have been five awful elections - '92, '96, '98, '06 and '08 -- and all the result of purposeful moderation…..Republicans do best when they go the most conservative. They can succeed somewhat if the Democrats let their liberalism show in the campaign. But when the waters are muddied, it is always a disaster for Republicans.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/09/do_the_30_year_math_the_consul.html

Even before Christine O’Donnell handily defeated Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) in an epic upset Tuesday night, the Tea Parties, all of them, had already won. No matter what happens in the midterm elections on Nov. 2, the Tea Party has moved the Democrats to the right and the Republicans even more so, and President Obama’s agenda is dead.

http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/ab-stoddard/119061-tea-partys-already-won

Poor Michelle Obama. Five star hotels, tax-payer funded drivers and security, top shelf food and clothing, a personal staff of about 30 at her beck and call, intimate White House concerts from Paul McCartney, and a personal chef. Boy, the burdens of being first lady are such a drag. A new book alleges that Michelle Obama once said, “It’s hell. I can’t stand it,” when asked about her job according to the first lady of France, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. So what does material-girl Michelle want? Better chefs? More trips to Europe? Maybe she needs another vacation.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/09/17/andrea-tantaros-michelle-obama-carla-bruni-sarkozy-white-house-lady-hell-job/

A light bulb factory closes in Virginia as mandated fluorescents are made in China. It's now a crime to make or ship for sale 75-watt incandescent bulbs in the European Union. Welcome to green hell.

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/546913/201009101839/Thomas-Edison-Youre-Under-Arrest.htm

In 2004, 76 Democrats actually asked President Bush not to manage Fannie Mae responsibly. There are smoking guns and then there are smoking bazookas. The June 28, 2004, letter from Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and dozens of other House Democrats to President Bush, posted by Moe Lane on Redstate.com last week, forever squashes Democratic claims about the mortgage crisis not being their fault.

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/547134/201009131900/The-Democrats-Fannie-Is-Showing.htm

Imagine one morning you wake up, and find you’ve been forced to join the United Auto Workers against your will because of a special deal your Democratic governor cut to reward the union for its political activity. That’s the reality for thousands of Michigan day care providers. Some of them are suing. “I thought it was a joke,” said [Peggy] Mashke, 50, of northern Michigan’s Ogemaw County. “I work out of my home. I’m not an auto worker. How can I become a member of the UAW? I didn’t get it.”

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/michigan-youre-in-the-union-now-like-it-or-not-102850584.html

The American Civil Liberties Union has discovered the right to life. Seriously. But it’s not what you think.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1165472

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NOTEWORTHY WEBSITES

The Hoover Institution at Stanford has a great video series called Uncommon Knowledge. Interviews with such figures as Thomas Sowell, Milton Friedman, Victor Davis Hansen, Mark Steyn, etc.

http://www.hoover.org/multimedia/uncommon-knowledge

Here’s the brilliant Dr. Sowell talking about his latest book, “Dismantling America”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SDLBqIubCs

The Forgotten Man: An Artist’s Rendition of What Obama Has Done. McNaughton explains what’s behind it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KGlBHyVeYU

Here’s the picture, mouse-over each president to learn more.

http://www.mcnaughtonart.com/artwork/view_zoom/?artpiece_id=379#

The Alliance for Retirement Prosperity Association offers its members the only true alternative to AARP—demonstrable political clout and unbeatable membership benefits. Unlike AARP, the Alliance reflects original American values and principles and takes no money from the federal government, thus we owe no political debt to any politician.

http://wethealliance.com/

Hero dogs of 9/11:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D91GQRX3YdY

The Patty Murray Misery Index

http://www.murraymiseryindex.com/?gclid=CML-pO2rgqQCFQUiawodiBmvIg

Disturbing map:

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/246243/disturbing-map-daniel-foster

Join the Refudiation:

http://www.weeklystandardstore.com/

Everyday you hear about political information being tweeted by influential politicians...now you can find them all in one place. It's all right here on Politics Tweet!

http://politicstweet.com/

This site claims to have voter profiles in each state. See if they have one on you.

http://www.voterfactory.com/default.html

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LATE NITE

Jay Leno: According to government auditors, the stimulus money is being held up because there aren't enough government workers to oversee the spending. So follow me, in other words, government workers who aren't there are needed to spend money we don't have to create jobs that don't exist.

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WISE WORDS

"Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself."

-Milton Friedman

“What prudent merchant will hazard his fortunes in any new branch of commerce when he knows not but that his plans may be rendered unlawful before they can be executed? What farmer or manufacturer will lay himself out for the encouragement given to any particular cultivation or establishment, when he can have no assurance that his preparatory labors and advances will not render him a victim to an inconstant government?”

-James Madison, Federalist 62