Bomb Threat at Office of Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio

April 15, 2013 | Filed Under Arizona, Conservatives, Crime, Elections, Ethics, GOP, Republicans, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

On Friday morning, April 12, a package suspected of containing an explosive device was addressed to the offices of the Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriffs offices of Joe Arpaio, known as “America’s toughest sheriff.”

The package was intercepted by postal authorities in Flagstaff and was submitted to an X-ray scan that showed what looked like an explosive device hidden inside.

Postal authorities said that the package was flagged by a “very astute” carrier who thought the thing was suspicious.

The bomb squad was quickly called and the suspicious package was destroyed.
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An Interview With Chad Koppie, Running for U.S. Senate From Illinois

April 15, 2013 | Filed Under Conservatives, Elections, GOP, Illinois, Republicans, Senate, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Chad Koppie has decided to throw his hat in the ring for the 2014 race for Senate and recently I took a few minutes to get an idea of what issues interest him. Koppie is both fiscally as well as socially conservative and has several considered ideas about how things need to be.

Koppie is a conservative Republican from Kane County and currently sits on the Kane County Regional Board of Schools. He has also been a township trustee, a school board member, and a hospital board member in his county. He’s run for other offices, most recently for Senate in 2008.

In 2008, Koppie ran under the Constitution Party banner for Senate. You can see his presentation at WTTW T’s “free time” segment from 2008.

His bio states: “Chad Koppie is strongly pro-life, pro-gun rights, and anti-illegal alien. He wants to repeal Obamacare. He wants to help eliminate the Dept. of Education, audit the Federal Reserve, and cut all other federal spending by 3%, per year, for 10 years. He supports a federal flat tax. He supports a balanced budget amendment, for the Constitution.”

I began our discussion asking him about the Illinois establishment GOP. I wondered how he was going to get their support. Turns out, he didn’t intend to worry much about the establishment and plans on reaching out to the grassroots to launch his campaign.
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America’s Sheriff, Joe Arpaio, Stands Alone Against Unions And Outsiders in Recall Effort

April 10, 2013 | Filed Under Arizona, Barack Obama, Conservatives, Constitution, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Ethics, GOP, Liberals, President, Progressives, Regulation, Republicans, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Only three weeks after re-election in 2012, Sheriff Joe Arpaio was hit with a recall effort. Now, with anti-Arpaio petitions in circulation in Maricopa County, Arizona, “America’s Sheriff” is organizing his forces to oppose a recall backed by the deep pockets of the unions, millions in outside money, and a flood of non-Arizonans arriving to act as the left-winger’s ground troops. (See www.savesheriffjoe.org)

Arpaio’s team is being ramrodded by the Conservative Business League and unlike the opposition’s recall efforts, the CBL is an Arizona-based organization. The duo taking the helm of the save Joe campaign is the CBL’s Ron Ludders and Bob Thomas.

Ludders and Thomas say that the left’s effort to destroy Sheriff Joe Arpaio is no less than an effort to use the Colorado model (the campaign that turned Colorado from red to blue) to give Arizona to the Democrats. It is also a mirror of what the left tried to do to Republican Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin and, if successful, would be a model for Democrats to regain power in Texas.

Strangely, Arizona’s recall law is incredibly loose. An elected official in The Grand Canyon State can be recalled for any reason at all and, with one exception, at any time. Unlike such laws in most states, the Arizona law does not require a recall for cause such as criminal activity, fraud, or other real reasons. The only rule seems to be that the elected official has to be in office for six months into his first term before a recall can be mounted. This rule did not apply to the six-term Sheriff. To start a recall, petitioners must gather the signatures of 25 percent of the number of votes cast in the last election.
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Brandon Darby’s Epic Smackdown of Wonkette

April 10, 2013 | Filed Under Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, GOP, Journalism, Liberals, Media, Media Bias, Progressives, Republicans, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Sometimes the Internet is fun and Breitbart’s own Brandon Darby had a ball slamming the profane Wonkette after it accused him of being a “snitch” for helping the feds stop a domestic bombing in 2008 as well as lying about what he recently said about the Aryan Brotherhood.

Firstly, for those unaware, Darby used to be a prominent organizer on the left but when he became aware of a popular Palestinian nonprofit’s efforts to kill Israeli civilians, he approached the FBI. The FBI later tasked Darby with infiltrating an anarchist effort to prevent Republicans from assembling during the 2008 RNC. While helping protect the rights of those attending the RNC, a bombing plot against Republican delegates and law enforcement officers was uncovered and Darby ultimately chose to testify against the bomb-makers and his identity was released. Whether Wonkette was upset at Darby for protecting Israeli civilians or for protecting Republican delegates and law enforcement officers, or both, is unknown. Regardless, Wonkette called him a “snitch” for his service.

But Wonkette’s newest attack on Darby is over his latest Breitbart piece, “FBI Documents Connect Aryan Brotherhood with Mexican Cartels.” In it, Darby points out that the Aryan Brotherhood isn’t just about white supremacy anymore.
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VIDEO: The False Claim that Women Only Earn 77 Cents To a Man’s Dollar

April 9, 2013 | Filed Under Business, Capitalism, Communism, Congress, Conservatives, Democracy, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Education, Ethics, GOP, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Jobs, Liberals, Policy, President, Progressives, Republicans, Senate, Socialism, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

The truth is women make pretty much the same as men when “apples” are compared to “apples”…

the Independent Women’s Forum, in a continued effort to set the record straight about the real reason for the statistical difference between men and women’s earnings , releases an informative, stop-frame animation web video — Straight Talk About the Wage Gap. The video explains how women’s choices ultimately determine how much they earn and how government intervention in the workplace can backfire on women.

http://www.iwf.org/

Mark Levin On Fox’s Dana Perino: ‘I’m Sick Of The Preening, Elitist, Country Club Republicans!’

April 8, 2013 | Filed Under Congress, Conservatives, Elections, Ethics, Fox News, GOP, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Journalism, Media Bias, Radio, Republicans, Senate, TV, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

On April 2 on Fox News’ The Five, former George W. Bush press secretary Dana Perino criticized Doctor Ben Carson for appearing on too many conservative shows. This criticism sent talk show host Mark Levin into criticism of his own saying he was sick of these “preening, elitist, country club Republican(s).”

Ben Carson is the newest star in the conservative firmament and he’s now entering that spot in his debut onto the scene were pundits think they know better about how he should comport himself than he does. Thus, Perino’s advice for Carson is to stop doing TV and radio and “lay low” for a while.

Why? According to Perino it’s because doing conservative talk radio is bad for his image. Already Carson has “burned through so much of his credibility,” Perino claimed.
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Foreign Policy Mag Maligns Ted Cruz as ‘Most Hated Man in the Senate’

April 6, 2013 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Conservatives, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, GOP, Government, Liberals, Progressives, Republicans, Senate, Taxes, Ted Cruz, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Foreign Policy magazine has made the stark pronouncement about Texas Senator Ted Cruz. According to FP’s Erica Grieder, Cruz is “the most hated man in the U.S. Senate.”

In a March 29 piece, Grieder made this extreme pronouncement based on the new Senator’s outspoken positions on many issues as well as on how irksome he is to old guard Senators who imagine that first year colleagues should be seen and not heard.

Grieder starts her piece with several gratuitous insults. Right off she says that Cruz is “the human equivalent of one of those flower-squirters that clowns wear on their lapels.” She then calls his initiatives and ideas “non-sequiturs” and says they are “self-defeating.” This was all just the first paragraph.

Next we learn that Cruz has “irritated” Democrats like Dianne Feinstein and been a “headache for GOP leaders.” This all because he stands up strongly for his principles and the positions that got him elected.

Does this really make him “hated,” though? He may elicit distaste in these old guard Senators and in those Senators that stand squarely against his principles, but “hated”? That is quite a subjective assessment.
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Glenn Beck Goes ‘Wobbly’

April 3, 2013 | Filed Under Chuck Busch, Conservatives, Entertainment, Ethics, Fox News, Glenn Beck, GOP, Government, Corruption, Journalism, Media, Media Bias, Republicans, Rush Limbaugh, Talk Radio, TV | No Comments

-By Chuck Busch

To: Mr. Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch

I just received your recent newsletter in which you related what Glenn Beck said on his Internet Broadcast program concerning inane ideas about “surrender.” I was not aware of his statement as I make it a point to not tune into Glenn on the Internet or on his radio program. Initially, I thought he was doing a service by bringing out controversial information on little discussed subjects that all American’s should be aware of. However after a time, he lost believability, was let go by FOX News and his radio program dissolved into silliness. This is not a time for frivolity and jokes. It is time for a serious effort to educate a misguided populace.

I have been concerned for some time that the host of conservative commentators on radio and TV, with the exception of Rush Limbaugh, have become entirely too harsh and strident contributing to the characterization that conservatives are uncaring and cold-hearted. Anger (and we all have reason to be angry) is too strong of an emotion to sustain over the long term and it is Obama’s strategy to wear us out. Rather than engaging in a personal shouting match with our opponents, we need to meet the challenges to our liberties with a steadfastness, confidence and calmness that will convince people of the soundness of our arguments. The face of conservatism and the Republican Party must attract more listeners and entreat them to consider objectively the major issues of the day. Instead of people reacting to the personality of the talk show host, let them focus on the substance of the debate. (See article on Fox News programming by Michael Reagan titled “New Song, New Singers” March 21, 2013.)

I have already mentioned Rush Limbaugh who founded conservative talk radio and is, without doubt, the master of the trade. He has an uncanny way of being critical of the administration but doing it in a good-natured humorous manner. Ridicule can be a good weapon against these uptight liberals but only if used in a skillful way. Rush, in this post-election cycle, has also made it his objective to connect with the “low information voter” which is a brilliant strategy. The people must be convinced that the supposed benefits of a generous federal welfare state are not only corrupting, but are unsustainable and are not worth the lost of liberties that they entail. They must also learn that this administration does not have their best long-term interests are heart and it’s social and economic policies have produced this ongoing distress in all aspects of American life.
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Politico Tries to Sink Another Perry Campaign

April 2, 2013 | Filed Under Conservatives, Elections, GOP, Government, Journalism, Media, Media Bias, Politico, Rick Perry, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

In a March 28 article, Politico made to report on the situation in Texas Governor Rick Perry’s inner circle but instead of a concise report this long and oddly repetitive piece was seemingly more interested in constantly reminding readers that the Governor didn’t fare too well in the 2012 Presidential election.

The quixotic piece by Politico’s Alexander Burns is ostensibly about a lightly manned Perry campaign staff. Many older Perry staffers, Burns reports, have now left the Governor’s employ and there seems to be some confusion as to public knowledge of who is doing what inside Perry’s organization.

But Burns’ motivation for the long piece is questionable. For one thing, he notes several times that Perry is in a “different” phase of his work as Governor in that being governor is his chief job at the moment. Therefore, future campaigns have taken a back seat to governing. This, of course, would be a good reason why Perry has thinned his campaign staff. He just doesn’t need an entire retinue of advisors and campaign staffers to do his job as Governor. In fact, this point seems to make much of Burns’ speculations rather moot, yet his reporting leads readers to imagine that Perry’s staffers are like rats leaving a sinking ship.
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Dr. Ben Carson Bows to Pressure to Apologize for ‘Gay Remark’

April 2, 2013 | Filed Under 1st Amendment, Anti-Americanism, Ben Carson, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Gay Marriage, Gays, GOP, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Nanny State, Progressives, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

In an appearance on MSNBC, Neurosurgeon Ben Carson bowed to pressure to apologize for remarks about traditional marriage he made early last week on the Sean Hannity show.

Appearing with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on March 29, Carson tried to explain what he meant with his earlier comments about traditional marriage and made to walk back his thoughts on how marriage should be defined.

“I think in terms of what was said on Sean Hannity’s show, that was taken completely out of context and completely misunderstood in terms of what I was trying to say,” Dr. Carson said. “As a Christian, I have a duty to love all people and that includes people who have other sexual orientations, and I certainly do, and never had any intention of offending anyone… If anyone was offended, I apologize to you.”

Carson’s back tracking occurred after MSNBC and other left-wing pundits immediately attacked him for his Tuesday, March 26 appearance on Hannity..

Compared to his later MSNBC appearance, Carson was more definitive on Hannity’s show. “My thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman. It’s a well-established fundamental pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality, it doesn’t matter what they are, they don’t get to change the definition,” Carson said on Hannity’s broadcast.
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Phyllis Schlafly On the GOP Establishment, Karl Rove, Mitt Romney and Other ‘Losers’

March 27, 2013 | Filed Under Congress, Conservatives, Constitution, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Karl Rove, Mitt Romney, President, Senate, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

This year at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), I was fortunate enough to get some time to interview one of the most redoubtable conservative activists in the nation, Phyllis Schlafly. In this eighteen minute video you will encounter a woman that is extremely vital and at 89-years-of-age still sharp as a tack.

As is her wont, Schlafly eschewed kid gloves with her frank discussion of the GOP establishment and how those effete, east coast, country clubbers are at war with the conservative, Midwestern grassroots.

Take Schlafly’s description of “the establishment,” for instance:
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Despite Wide Appeal to Middle America, Jay Leno Out at ‘Tonight’

March 26, 2013 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Entertainment, Government, Liberals, NBC, President, Progressives, TV, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Despite solid ratings and wide appeal to middle America, NBC is poised to replace Jay Leno with Jimmy Fallon as the host of the Tonight Show as Leno’s contract nears its end.

Leno was off the show for six months between 2009 to 2010 when Conan O’Brien briefly hosted the Tonight Show, but as the news breaks that he’s to be replaced, this time by Fallon, some news outlets are calling Leno the “conservative’s” TV host.

Politico reported on March 22 that the “Right bemoans possible Jay Leno exit,” and asks, “Could Jay Leno become a new conservative hero?”

Politico features a Tweet from Matt Drudge saying, “Left cheering Leno exit typical, he dared to entertain and offer jokes for the other 50% of country. Unacceptable in ‘New America’…”
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VIDEO: Rep. Rick Santorum Talks About Pope Francis and The Media Bias

March 25, 2013 | Filed Under Catholicism, Christianity, Congress, Conservatives, GOP, Government, Religion, Rick Santorum, Senate, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

On March 15 the good folks of the National Bloggers Club hosted a private visit by Senator Rick Santorum at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

The subject of most of his comments as well as the questions asked centered around the new Pope and the Catholic Church. One of his replies was particularly interesting and it wasn’t just interesting because it was an answer to a question I asked the Senator myself.

I asked about how the media is and/or will treat the Catholic Church on the issue of “reform” as the new Pope takes charge of his world-wide flock. Santorum noted that the Church can’t change its spots just because the culture does. The Church is supposed to be teaching truth, not bending constantly to cultural changes.

Santorum’s reply:
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CPAC 2013: OK, Can We Just Be Done With Donald Trump Now?

March 18, 2013 | Filed Under Conservatives, CPAC, Donald Trump, Elections, GOP, Republicans, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

I was at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland this year but I was not yet at the event on Thursday morning, so I missed The Donald’s speech. I watched the video later because I heard a lot of people wondering what the heck this guy was talking about. And after seeing the video, I have to say this: can we finally be done with Donald Trump in GOP politics, now?

Trump started out his speech talking about how the country was in trouble. Not a big newsflash, that. He also noted that the GOP was in serious trouble. Another newsflash. But then came a slap in the face. Here he was at a conservative gathering and what was the third point he made?

“The Republican Party, I can almost want to say it’s going to be a little bit tough and especially as you get more and more conservative. They get nasty. They don’t like to hear what we have to say.”

Um… what?

Who is “we” and is everyone in your audience is a closed-minded, nasty, creep, Mr. Trump?
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CPAC 2013 Wrap Up: The Libertarians Take Over

March 17, 2013 | Filed Under Conservatives, CPAC, Republicans, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

On Saturday after noon they announced the winners of the straw poll giving us an idea of who the attendees of the event would like to see run for president this far out of 2016. Interestingly, no “establishment” pols appeared anywhere on the list.

The Results Board

Here are the results:

KY Senator Rand Paul (25%)
FL Senator Marco Rubio (23%)
PA Senator Rick Santorum (8%)
NJ Gov. Chris Christie (7%)
WI Congresman Paul Ryan (6%)
WI Gov Scott Walker (5%)
Doctor Ben Carson (4%)
TX Senator Ted Cruz (4%)
LA Gov Bobby Jindal (3%)
AK Gov Sarah Palin (3%)
Others (14%)
Undecided (1%)

So, what does this mean? As one person noted, the libertarians took over CPAC.

Note that all those above were non-establishment people with Rand being the most un-establishment of them all. But Rubio was opposed in his primary by both the Florida and national establishment (they all supported Charlie Crist who ended up switching parties to a Dem. after he lost), Santorum is no establishment guy, neither is Carson or Cruz. Christie is as close to establishment as it gets and even he isn’t totally “one of those” in many ways. I wouldn’t call Ryan an establishment guy, either, as he’s brought them to him–via his expertise on the budget–as opposed to him bending over backwards to join them as most do.
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Sarah Palin Drink Big Gulp at CPAC 2013

March 16, 2013 | Filed Under Conservatives, Freedom, Liberty, Sarah Palin, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Governor Sarah Palin appeared this morning at CPAC 2013. This woman always, always draws a great and enthusiastic audience and this year was no exception.

Palin’s speech was filled with lots of Palin bromides about freedom, liberty and conservative, small government. She had many laugh lines, as always. One was when hubby Todd bought her a gun rack for her 4X4 and she had to buy a rifle to go in it for him. “He got the rifle,” Palin said, “and I got the rack.”

But it was what she did right exactly afterward that brought the house down. Palin reached under the podium and brought out a Big Gulp and began sipping from it.

This was, of course, a direct slap at New York’s “independent” mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The place simply erupted in applause.
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CPAC 2013

March 14, 2013 | Filed Under Conservatives, CPAC, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Republicans, Warner Todd Huston, Washington D.C. | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Once again I am attending the Conservative Political Action Conference here in Washington D.C.–well, not D.C. exactly but outside the city in National Harbor, Maryland, a 20 minute drive from downtown.

The morning started off with Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, U.S. Representative Allen West, and Senator Pat Toomey and a few others.

CPAC’s early group discussion on Thursday was all about cultural diversity with a panel titled “Respecting families and the rule of law: a lasting immigration policy.” This panel addressed the thorny issue of the conservative position on the current problems over immigration, illegal or otherwise.
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AFP Congressional Scorecard Released

February 23, 2013 | Filed Under Americans For Prosperity, Congress, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Ethics, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, Progressives, Senate, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Americans for Prosperity has launched a new project for Americans to track their congressmen. The new website is part of an interactive version of AFP’s congressional key vote scorecard, which includes AFP key votes from the past three congresses.

Eighteen House members and one senator rated an A+ conservative rating while twenty-one reps. and one senator rated an F.

The new scorecard can be seen at afpscorecard.org. (A printable version can be seen HERE).

“The AFP Scorecard is an easy way for our activists, the media, and the general public to keep an eye on Washington. Now that the Scorecard is available on an interactive website it will be even easier to keep an eye on Congress,” said AFP Director of Policy James Valvo.
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Birthday of a Giant: Where Have you Gone George Washington?

February 22, 2013 | Filed Under Conservatives, Declaration of Independence, Ethics, Founders, George Washington, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston, Western Civilization | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

It is February 22nd, the birthday of our first President, George Washington.

I don’t celebrate “President’s Day.” I celebrate the presidents individually, not the whole gaggle of them at once. But I most certainly don’t celebrate George Washington, the father of our country, as just another president. These days, George Washington has been relegated to that “truth telling guy” to be seen on the one dollar bill and on TV commercials at the end of February or that guy lumped in with Lincoln on “President’s Day.” And that is a shame, indeed, for, without George Washington, our presidency and nation might have become a far different place.

What made Washington such a giant for our times as well as his? For one thing, he knew how to act in public.

Back in the 1700’s

In the year 1759 a man named William Robertson wrote a book called The History of Emperor Charles V. It was a book that some claim was the standard after which modern historical study and writing has come to be patterned. Mr. Robertson, who became Principle of the University of Edinburgh in later years, introduced a salient point into the era of the Scottish Enlightenment. That idea was that “Politeness” in society would result in becoming a civilized nation. And it was a politeness perpetuated and spread through capitalism that was the best avenue to achieving that civilized level.
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S.E. Cupp’s Unhelpful Apostasy

February 20, 2013 | Filed Under Conservatives, Glenn Beck, GOP, Media, Policy, Republicans, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Youthful commentator S.E. Cupp of the lamentable MSNBC recently made some trouble for herself by an ill-considered slam on Rush Limbaugh. Then, she made it worse with a subsequent doubling down on her unhelpful and unnecessary attack.

For those unaware, S.E. Cupp is a young, conservative commentator that has been close to Glenn Beck–close as in his employee–and last year began a stint as the token conservative on an MSNBC show called The Cycle.

To catch you up on the controversy, Cupp was quoted in The New York Times saying that we should not be afraid to “call out Rush Limbaugh” when he does or says something she deems outrageous.

Unsurprisingly, Miss Cupp was cremated on Twitter for her slam on Rush. While much of the attacks she sustained on Twitter were over the top and unwarranted, the essential criticism of her position is correct.

Instead of taking the criticism, though, in a follow up column published on February 19 in the New York Daily News Miss Cupp doubled down on her position.
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Congressman Roskam Previews Obama’s State of the Union Speech

February 12, 2013 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Congress, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Ethics, Financial Reform, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Jobs, Liberals, Peter Roskam, President, Progressives, Redistricting, Senate, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

I had a few minutes to speak privately to Illinois Congressman Peter Roskam (R, 6th District) about the upcoming State of the Union speech that the President will give tonight and as far as Roskam is concerned the speech tonight will be nothing but a “highly charged and very, very political” speech that won’t contain many actual solutions.

Roskam, the Chief Deputy Whip of the House, said that he hopes that the President will offer ways to grow private sector jobs and a plan to “live within our means,” but he was not sanguine that he will.

“I think the President is going to lapse right into inauguration speech 2.0 and it’s all going to be highly political, and a lot of wedge issues that are not designed to try and get any kind of concessions or solutions on any of these things,” Roskam told me.

“The irony is, he’s got a real opportunity here if he wanted to lead and try and grow the economy but I think he’s just going to follow the old play book.”

Roskam also noted that the President’s Party is also not trying too hard to offer solutions.
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Amer. For Prosperity Il: A Celebration of Ronald Reagan’s Birthday

February 7, 2013 | Filed Under Americans For Prosperity, Conservatives, GOP, President, Ronald Reagan, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

On the evening of February 6–Ronald Reagan’s birthday–I attended a small event put on by Americans For Prosperity-Illinois (AFP-IL) to celebrate President Reagan’s birthday. We were regaled by a talk from Reagan’s personal, post presidency assistant, Peggy Grande and she gave a wonderful talk.

Ill. AFP Director David From Introduces Our Speaker

Mrs. Grande had some wonderful, heartwarming stories about the President. She was a lucky, lucky woman to have been able to live a decade in the company of so great a man.

Peggy Grande, Ronald Reagan’s Personal Assistant

Best of all, Mrs. Grande let us know of Reagan’s secret life… there wasn’t one. As she so wonderfully put it, Reagan was Reagan. What we saw in his public personae was his personal comportment. He was kind, intelligent, thoughtful, happy… in short the “happy warrior” we all saw on TV was Ronald Reagan.

This was the most revealing thing of all. It meant that there was no false front to Ronald Reagan, no artifice. The fact is, we weren’t somehow being fooled by Ronald Reagan. He was the great man we thought he was in public as well as in private.
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Joe Walsh Forms Super PAC In Answer to Karl Rove

February 5, 2013 | Filed Under Campaign Finance, Congress, Conservatives, Elections, GOP, Illinois, Joe Walsh, Senate, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Former Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh has announced he’s forming a super PAC to fight Karl Rove’s RINO incumbent protection PAC.

I’m filing the paperwork to form a super PAC to support freedom-loving conservative alternatives to @karlrove on FOX

— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) February 5, 2013

Hey, Karl Rove: Take a Hike Loser

February 3, 2013 | Filed Under Congress, Conservatives, Elections, Ethics, GOP, Government, Karl Rove, Liberals, Senate, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Earner Todd Huston

Karl Rove has declared war on conservatives. With his new Super PAC, he is targeting not Democrats, he is not trying to raise money for good candidates, no he is raising money to defeat conservatives who might have the temerity to make a run for office in 2014.

Karl Rove has identified the enemy… and he is us!

It should be remembered that everything Rove did in the late presidential election misfired terribly. He spent millions of those gullible enough to donate to his efforts, then he went on Fox News and insisted Romney would win despite the evidence mounting by the minute on election night that we were trounced.

Rove is not part of the solution. He is part of the hide-bound, country club Republican, RINO, problem.

The Senate Conservative Fund has issued a statement which perfectly encapsulates what our message to this loser should be.

The Senate Conservatives Fund issued the following statement today regarding news that American Crossroads has formed a new super PAC comically named the “Conservative Victory Project” to oppose conservative candidates in GOP primary elections. The new super PAC is supported by Karl Rove and will be run by Steven Law, the former Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

“The Conservative Defeat Project is yet another example of the Republican establishment’s hostility toward its conservative base,” said SCF Executive Director Matt Hoskins. “Rather than listening to the grassroots and working to advance their principles, the establishment has chosen to declare war on its party’s most loyal supporters. If they keep this up, the Republican Party will remain in the wilderness for decades to come.”

Click HERE to read the rest.
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Bay Buchanan Quits TV Punditry for Real Estate Sales After Romney’s ‘Brutal’ Defeat

January 31, 2013 | Filed Under Cable, Conservatives, Entertainment, Journalism, Media, Media Bias, Republicans, TV, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

As a staunch conservative commentator, Bay Buchanan has been a fixture in TV punditry for years but after Romney’s “brutal” defeat she has announced that she’s quitting TV and going into real estate sales.

Buchanan, the sister of arch conservative commentator and three-time candidate for the GOP nomination for President Patrick Buchanan, told the Washington Examiner that after the last election it was time for her to leave television behind.

Romney’s loss “was brutal,” Buchanan said. “I think it’s the toughest because we really expected to win it.”

Buchanan reported that two days after the election she began taking real estate classes, quickly earned her Virginia license, and soon joined the real estate firm of McEnearney Associates Inc. in McLean, Va. She also hopes to earn licenses in several nearby states
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The NRA’s Media Strategy, Is It Working?

January 29, 2013 | Filed Under 2nd Amendment, Bill of Rights, Conservatives, Constitution, Gun Control, Guns, Journalism, Media, Media Bias, NRA, Regulation, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The newest efforts to ban guns being undertaken by Democrats and President Obama demands response and the National Rifle Association isn’t lying down on the job. But is the NRA’s media strategy working?

For about a week after the murders of 26 school children and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, the NRA was sensibly–and respectfully–silent over the incident. But after allowing a suitable time to go by to allow some grieving to take place, the NRA came out swinging with a few ideas on what to do about guns, one of which was to place armed guards in our nation’s schools.

Immediately the left skewered the NRA for the suggestion, even though the President himself later proposed something similar–and was criticized for it from his own side.
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Illinois Republicans Voting Against Pork-Filled, Wasteful Spending

January 16, 2013 | Filed Under Aaron Schock, Adam Kinzinger, Budget, Congress, Conservatives, Economy/Finances, GOP, Government, House of Representatives, Illinois, Peter Roskam, Randy Hultgren, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

We do a lot of carping on blogs and in the media about what our Representatives in Congress do, of course. But once in a while we should praise them when they get together and do something right.

Today we offer a bit of positive reinforcement for our GOP delegation in D.C. for voting against the Sandy Relief package.

No, we aren’t crowing that they’ve voted to deprive victims of Hurricane Sandy of much needed relief funds. No, what we are praising them for is for refusing to vote for a bill that is stuffed with nothing but wasteful, pork spending.

Unfortunately, the bill wasn’t just for Sandy relief. It was also stuffed with billions for FBI agent salaries, road projects in states unaffected by Sandy, cash for upgrades to the money-losing Amtrak rail lines, and other wasteful spending.
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WaPost Says Political Party Power Dying for GOP, But What Does it Mean?

January 15, 2013 | Filed Under Americans For Prosperity, Americans for Tax Reform, Conservatives, Elections, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Jim DeMint, Senate, Society/Culture, The Heritage Foundation, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Originally posted at TheOtherMCain.com.

In his latest piece at The Fix Blog, Washington Post reporter Chris Cillizza focused on the apparent waning power of the Republican Party among the center right coalition. Cillizza makes some good points, of course, but I do have at least one warning to our side over the points Cillizza makes.

Cillizza’s focus is on the recent departure from the Senate of South Carolina’s Jim DeMint who abruptly left a high profile political career to take the top spot leading the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Cillizza doesn’t mention it, but DeMint wasn’t just any old faceless senator. He had made himself an important voice in conservative circles even going so far as to become a major national player in elections whereby candidates would make a pilgrimage to his offices to seek his endorsement.

So, when DeMint left the power of the Senate behind, it was a big shock to conservatives who had hoped he’d continue to be a major conservative voice inside Washington.
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Paul Ryan to Keynote Conservative Political Action Conference in March

January 14, 2013 | Filed Under Conservatives, CPAC, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) has announced that its keynote speaker will be Wisconsin Congressman and former GOP Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan.

“We are pleased to announce that Congressman Paul Ryan will be a featured speaker at CPAC 2013,” said Al Cardenas, American Conservative Union Chairman and CPAC host. “From the day he was elected, Chairman Ryan has been a strong voice in Congress for pro-growth, free-market economic policies and has always been a CPAC favorite.”

The three-day conference scheduled to begin March 14 has for forty years been one of the biggest conservative meetings in the country and has served as a major forum for Republicans and conservatives seeking the White House.

While Rep. Ryan has not announced any decisions to seek the GOP nomination for 2016, his CPAC appearance could serve as a first step toward a run for president.

By the way, everyone, I’ll be at CPAC once again this year, so I’ll be reporting about Ryan’s speech.
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Dick Armey Doesn’t Even Know Who He’s Talking To?

January 10, 2013 | Filed Under Conservatives, Ethics, FreedomWorks, GOP, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Some of you may know of the absurd dust up between former Congressman, and conservative icon, Dick Armey and his coworkers at Freedomworks. Last year, Armey came barreling onto the Freedomworks offices in DC with an armed security guard and tried to forcibly take over the organization with which he had been associated for years.

He had the president of the group, Matt Kibbe, and several others forcibly removed from the premises, but after a bit of turmoil, and some instances in front of the remaining workers showing that Armey seemed confused about what was even doing in his own coup ended up himself vacating his post at the conservative activism group with a handsome payoff ringing in at some eight million bucks in get-lost money.

After all this came out in public, Armey then stampeded to several left-wing outfits like Mother Jones magazine and the extremists at Media Matters for America to “tell his story.”

Armey was heavily criticized for running to the left-wing press by the very movement he did so much to help foster back in the 1990s.

Now, Armey claims that he didn’t even know who he was talking to.
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