Romney Takes Maine In A Squeaker

Mitt Romney seemed to hang on to his front runner status for the Republican Presidential nomination on Saturday winning the Maine Caucus by just three percentage points over second place rival Ron Paul. Romney came in at 39%, Paul a close second with 36%, Rick Santorum took third place with 18% and Newt Gingrich at 6%.
  It was a pretty productive weekend for the former Massachusetts Governor. At CPAC, the annual gathering of Conservatives in Washington DC, Romney took the straw poll win with 38%, Rick Santorum with 31%, Gingrich at 15% and Ron Paul with 12%. CPAC in the last few years has not just drawn what a lot of people would categorize as "establishment" Republicans, but all sorts of new Conservative media including websites, blogs, and talk radio personalities. These "new media" types want to ensure that the GOP will represent a vast array of Conservative viewpoints and not just the entrenched "old guard" Republicans.
  A "Southern Strategy" of sorts is gearing up in the weeks ahead.  It is thought that Mitt Romney will have trouble in the South, and that Newt Gingrich, who was a Representative from Georgia in his Congressional years will do very well in Dixie.

  Meanwhile, Romney is concentrating efforts in Arizona and Michigan on Feb.28. He is expected to win Michigan, where his father was Governor."Super Tuesday" votes in Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia may be kind to Newt Gingrich. Rick Santorum, having had a good week last week in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri means that the roller coaster could be far from over.                   

How Did We Get Here?

Hey Gang,
  Hope everyone is having a great Superbowl Sunday, don't eat too much!
  Well, here we are, beginning our celebration of Black History Month. We acknowledge the men and women whose courage, strength, knowledge, and contributions make America a better place.
  But I find myself with one question. How did we get here?  The reason I ask was prompted by a movie scene.  For those of you who have not seen "The Help", it is the story of a girl who, along with the maids who work for people she knows, write a book about the horrible treatment they endure in pre-civil rights era Mississippi.  When the two maids who are the major contributors to the book arrive for church one Sunday, they are greeted with a standing ovation from their fellow parishioners.
  My first thought was, how did the idea of demanding equality and dignity for fellow human beings become so perverted and twisted into feelings of entitlement, resentment, and often an attitude of superiority that seems to be the modern definition of "civil rights?
 Did it start with men like Malcolm X, who, in their frustration felt that violence was their only recourse? Did it start with the separatist, supremacist rantings of men like Louis Farrakhan? Did it start with men like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who seem to have discovered early on that if you kept people feeling victimized long enough you could turn it into a lifelong career opportunity? How did we get here?
  Why is it that very often when inner city kids dream of a college education they are taunted by their friends for "acting white"? Why are Black Conservatives, who dare to think for themselves, to look beyond what "Black Leaders" tell them to think about an idea, an issue, or a candidate called vile names like "Uncle Tom", "sell-out", or "Oreo"? How did we get here?
  I want an answer to these questions. But I don't know where to find it.  Thankfully, in 2012, the American dream is open to all who are willing to work hard, and play by the rules. America has come such a long way from those ugly days not so very long ago. America elected her first Black President in 2008, and once again, proved to the world that we are not just a place, but an idea. A vision. I don't think that Martin Luther King and Ronald Reagan would have agreed on much politically, but just maybe, they would have agreed on the notion that America is that "shining city on a hill", with her best days yet to come.  No American should ever be exempt from life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is not a political idea, it is a human idea.

  Americans like Justice Clarence Thomas, economist and author Thomas Sowell, Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Olympic Gold Medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee, or today's definition of "civil rights".  Which one do you think Dr. King had in mind?            

There They Go Again...

Hey Everyone,
  Ya' know, I'm hesitant about writing about Liberal bias in the new media.  It's so old. We all know it's there, we all know it's not going anywhere, and we all have seen it firsthand so why rehash old news?
  Well, maybe I'm a little late in talking about Newt Gingrich's ordeal with ABC News, then John King right off the bat during the CNN debate. But it was just so sleazy, even for main stream media types.
  So, ABC News trots out Mary Anne Gingrich. Mary Anne was married to Newt for 18 years. She claims that Newt wanted an "open" marriage while he was having an affair with current wife Callista.
  Prior to this we were treated to Karen Santorum's ex-boyfriend, a rock on the land that  Rick Perry's family owns supposedly painted with a racial slur, and Michelle Bachmann's migraine headaches. All of these nuggets of information designed to convince the American people that any one of these people, but more over, Conservatives in general, are just not fit for the Presidency.
  At some point, there was a meager attempt to hide it.  But not anymore. The gloves are off Baby, and we are ready to trash Conservatives by any means necessary!
  But when has the line been crossed? When is it too much? Are the spouses and even the children of the candidates over the line? The media certainly wasted no time reporting on a 19 year old Jenna Bush's alcohol possession citation, having a grand old time wondering if she was a "chip off the old block?" How often does CBS, NBC, or ABC report on the illegal immigrant family members of Barack Obama? Don't hold your breath, you might turn blue.

  There is an agenda afoot here. A very sinister one. Do what you have to do. Destroy as many Conservatives, including their families as is necessary. The ends justify the means. Do WHATEVER IT TAKES to help Barack Obama fundamentally transform America.
 To quote a movie line,"There is nothing more dangerous than a fool with a cause."       

Silly Season - Let It Begin

Hey Everybody,
  Hope that everybody had a great New Year's, not too much champagne. So I guess it is get down to business time.
  Well, it's here.  All of us political junkies, a.k.a. nerds, could hardly wait for it, but election season has officially begun.  It comes with all of the trappings, polls, predictions, candidates ripping .each other, Karl Rove's dry marker board.  All of the things we have come to know and love.
  It has come with some surprises too.  The just-the-right-moment surge of Rick Santorum.  Just 2 weeks ago, Santorum was polling in single digits, but came in just 8 votes behind Mitt Romney. Ron Paul won't be going anywhere anytime soon.  Because of great organization, Paul finished a strong third.  As Rick Santorum surged, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich dropped in the polls and finished fourth. He has vowed to continue on to try his luck in New Hampshire on Tuesday, where Romney has a 20 point lead over Ron Paul.  Rick Perry  has his sights on South Carolina, and after a dismal last place finish in Iowa, Michelle Bachmann has suspended her campaign.
  While our attentions are trained elsewhere, it seems our old pal President Obama is up to his old tricks.  This past Wednesday, Obama made recess appointments of Richard Cordray, who became the top consumer watchdog, and three members to fill vacant spots on the National Labor Relations Board.  Just one problem, The Senate was technically in session.  We can conclude from this that, A:The President of The United States has not familiarized himself with the governing document of the nation of which he has been elected President, or B: He views the Constitution of The United States as an obstacle to be gotten around.  This would not be the first time that possible Constitutional acrobatics had been tried.

  It is said in every election cycle that,"this is the most important election in our lifetime". This time around, nothing could be more true.  If Conservatives do not fight for the hearts and minds of every American, we run the very real risk of leaving a man in office who believes he is "obligated" to circumvent duly elected representatives of the people whenever he deems it appropriate to do so.  Are other,  more subtle forms of dictatorship far behind? When do they become not so subtle anymore? In the words of White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer, "We can't wait".          

Happy New Year

Hey Crew,
  First of all, I would like to say Happy New Year to everyone.  Have fun but be safe and be careful out there!
  2011 has been quite an eventful year.  From the shooting in January of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords to most recently the death of North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-Il, and in between the deadly tornadoes in Alabama and closer to home for me, in Joplin and right here in St. Louis on Good Friday. Of course, what Gateway Blogger worth their salt would not mention the best part of this year - our 11 time World Champion St. Louis Cardinals!
  I know it is usually customary at this point for the author to come up with some sort of profound and/or pithy thought or speech for the coming year.  I got nothin'.
  What I will say is this.  I am very optimistic about 2012.  I think it is pretty safe to say that the one thing that will consume our attention will be the Presidential election.  It will be a bloody race, the likes of which I don't think anyone has ever seen before.  But I have to believe that the American people, at least enough of them will realize what a pivotal time in our history this is. 
  I am like a million other people.  I plan to start working out - more exercise, less cookies, be more organized, you know, all of those New Year's resolutions we all try to keep. Some we do, some, not so much.

  So, as 2011 slips away, I will say to all of you, 2012 is going to be awesome! See you next year, and be prepared for one wild ride!      

Merry Christmas and Other Evil Thoughts

Hey Gang,
  First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you guys. Thanks for reading all year long. You guys are the best!
  Now, I feel like I need to combine a few things. A "two-fer", if you will. It's that time of year again. When Atheists get their panties all in a bunch over nativity scenes, Mayors of small towns think they can get away with putting up "Holiday" trees in the town square, and the local high school band gets ready to put on their annual "Winter" concert.
  But this year, there is a cherry on the cake of all of this madness. Tim Tebow.  I realize that the last person Tim or anyone else expects to defend him is a Wiccan. But that is exactly what I want to do.
  What is the big deal?! I don't understand.  Why do people seem to be so offended by Christianity?  America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles.  It is what makes the system imperfect at times, it is what makes the system work all the time.
  I don't have a problem with Tim Tebow praying after a win.  I don't have a problem with my neighbor's nativity scene.  I am a person who is secure enough in my faith and my beliefs that I don't feel the need to get outraged when someone else expresses theirs.  Is it that we have become such an "anything goes" society that we see it somehow as someone trying to say they are better than us if they openly try to live their faith?  If that is the case, then at the risk of getting really deep, do all of us need to look inward and honestly examine what it is about Tim Tebow getting down on one knee to pray after a victory or people saying "Merry Christmas" that automatically puts us on the defensive, makes us uncomfortable, and leads us right into "offended"?
  As someone who rarely gets their holidays recognized, with the possible exception of Halloween, you might think I have a big problem with all of this Christianity going on around me.  But in the grand scheme of what is going on in the world around us, it seems pretty minor.  So if it is not offending any of my Pagan or Wiccan brethren, I am going to eat Christmas cookies, listen to my "A Charlie Brown Christmas" CD, and look at my beautiful Christmas tree.  Then I will go to work and listen to my co-worker's Christmas music.

And oh, one more thing...Happy Winter Solstice!    

The Destruction of Herman Cain (or fill in the blank with any other Black Conservative)

Hey Everyone,
  Hope everyone is having a great holiday season, whatever holiday you celebrate.
    Liberals are a curious lot.  They love to ramble on about how "tolerant" they are.  But if you belong to a certain voting bloc, be it women, African-Americans, Hispanics, Gays and Lesbians, you get the idea. If you DARE to use the brain in your head and have the audacity to think for yourself, come to your own conclusions, and the unpardonable sin of coming from humble beginnings, get an education, perhaps do a stint in the military, work your way up the ladder of your chosen profession, but do not see yourself as a victim, and take no help from any government program, such as, oh I don't know, Affirmative Action, and along the way become, dare I say it, Conservative, God or any other deity help you if you decide to run for President.
  In the words of the great Rush Limbaugh, Liberals will always tell you who they are afraid of.
  Wow. Are they EVER scared right out of their Birkenstock's of Herman Cain! The last month or so has been solely dedicated to his demise politically and his reputation and good name personally.
  First, they tried the never-ending parade of women who claimed to have been groped, fondled,or in any way felt-up by Cain. When he did not seem to be going away quietly, out trotted Ginger White.  White claims to have had a 13-year long affair with Cain.  What do ya' know, this one actually worked!
  Recent polling data has shown that in President Obama's most solid voting blocs, except for Blacks, all of his numbers are sliding.  But let's be brutally honest here. What we are really talking about is the Black vote.  For Democrats, a Black Conservative Republican nominee is like NASCAR fans for Michelle Obama. They know he cannot run on his abysmal record, so as soon as Herman Cain looked like he might actually have some traction, out came the big guns.
  I would never presume to know the feelings of African-Americans, even Conservative ones.  But how can it not be the ultimate insult to tell an entire group of people, "if you dare to think in a way other than that which we and the 'leaders' we have hood-winked and put in front of you have tried to brainwash and scare you into thinking, and THEN, go out and proclaim it to the rest of the world in a vehicle like a Presidential campaign ?! We will make an example of you and destroy you."
 This is what has happened to Herman Cain.

  Let that be a lesson to the next Herman Cain.