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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VIDEO: The Future Is Brighter With School Choice

October 1, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, Children, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Ethics, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Taxes, The Heritage Foundation, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

This weekend’s release of Won’t Back Down has helped shine the spotlight on school choice. Heritage would like to keep it there, which is why we produced a short new video about the importance of parental choice in education.

Frustrated by the status quo and failing schools, more and more parents are demanding a choice for their children. That’s the plot of “Won’t Back Down,” which showcases how two committed parents take on the establishment. It’s based on actual events that stemmed from the parent-trigger law in California. The law allows parents to organize and, with the support of at least 50 percent, implement reform measures such as converting to a charter school or changing leadership.

>> Q&A: “Won’t Back Down” Producer Brings School Choice to Big Screen

With a cast of stars, including Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis, the movie has already prompted protests from union leaders like Randi Weingarten and opponents of school choice.

Education reformers appear to be winning. Last year was dubbed “The Year of School Choice” by the Wall Street Journal. More than a dozen states enacted school-choice legislation, empowering parents to choose a safe and effective education for their children. Heritage defines those choices as public, private, charter, online, and home school opportunities.

The video runs about two-and-a-half minutes. It was produced by Ben Howe of Mister Smith Media. For more videos from Heritage, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

CPAC Chicago, Part 4: Joe Walsh, Randy Hultgren, Straw Poll Results

June 10, 2012 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Bobby Jindal, Budget, Business, Capitalism, ChampionNews.net, Chicago, Chris Christie, Christianity, Communism, Congress, Conservatives, Democracy, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Ethics, Foreign Policy, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Heritage Foundation, Herman Cain, House of Representatives, Illinois, Illinois Policy Institute, Islam, Islamofascism, Jihad, Jobs, Joe Walsh, Koran, Liberals, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Nanny State, Obamacare, Peter Roskam, President, Randy Hultgren, Redistricting, Regulation, Republicans, Rick Santorum, Senate, Socialism, Taxes, Terrorism, The Heartland Institute, The Heritage Foundation, Unions, United Republican Fund, War on Terror, Warner Todd Huston, Wisconsin | 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Finally, in part four we’ll hear from two solid Illinois Congressmen, the 8th District’s Joe Walsh and Randy Hultgren of the 14th. We’ll also hear the, perhaps not startling results of the straw poll, the most important question from which was who Romney should pick for his vice presidential candidate (hint, the top picks weren’t any of his one-time rivals for the nomination).

Congressman Joe Walsh

Rep. Joe Walsh gins up the crowd

Joe Walsh of the Illinois 8th District is the one Congressman that the left wants to eliminate more than any other Republican Congressman. This is because Joe has carved out from among his fellows an outsized voice for conservatism. He appears regularly on TV and radio to tout the conservative message. But he’s become a major target of Democrat redistricting and now faces a tough challenge to be reelected in his newly reconfigured 8th District. Me, I think he can easily beat the know-nothing candidate the Democrats have put up against him, but Joe is taking nothing for granted.

One thing is sure, though, Joe Walsh knows how to get a conservative audience in motion.
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CPAC Chicago, Part 2: Richard Mourdock, Chris Christie, Herman Cain

June 10, 2012 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Chicago, Chris Christie, Communism, Congress, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Ethics, GOP, Government, Corruption, Heritage Foundation, Herman Cain, House of Representatives, Illinois, Illinois Policy Institute, Islam, Islamofascism, Jihad, Jobs, Joe Walsh, Koran, Liberals, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Peter Roskam, President, Randy Hultgren, Redistricting, Religion, Republicans, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Senate, Socialism, Taxes, Terrorism, The Heartland Institute, The Heritage Foundation, United Republican Fund, War on Terror, Warner Todd Huston | 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

In part two of my coverage of CPACs first Midwestern conference event, we will see some of the high spots of the floor speeches of Indiana Senate Candidate Richard Mourdock, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie – always a crowd favorite – and the redoubtable Herman Cain. Cain also visited the media room and I have video of that below the fold.

Indiana Senate Candidate Richard Mourdock

Richard Mourdock is the current Indiana State treasurer but he also just defeated long-time incumbent Senator Richard Lugar for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate from Indiana. He’ll face the Democrat come November. Mourdock has been widely touted as the insurgent Tea Party candidate that beat Lugar, the old line, establishment man.

“No one expected a lowly state treasurer could take out a 36-year Senator! But we DID,” Mourdock said triumphantly.

Mourdock also noted that Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has called him the “Hoosier headache.” Mourdock was rather proud of that appellation.
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John Fund on Why Voter ID Law is Good for Minorities

October 10, 2011 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Government, Corruption, Regulation, Rights, The Heritage Foundation, The Wall Street Journal, Vote Fraud, Voter ID, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

John Fund visited with Robert Bluey of the Heritage Foundation to discuss why voter ID laws are good in general but also good for minorities.

www.PubliusForum.com

Visit The Scribe for more info.
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Government Union Collective Bargaining 101

March 5, 2011 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Public Employees Unions, Republicans, SEIU, Taxes, Teachers Unions, The Heritage Foundation, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Are you a bit hazy on why government employee unions are a problem? If so the Heritage Foundation has made a great video to help you understand the deal. It’s a sort of Government Unions 101.

The Heritage Foundation also has a great fact sheet to help you learn more.

Here are some of the points on that list:
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How Did Ill. Representatives Vote on Cost Cutting (HR1)?

February 25, 2011 | Filed Under Aaron Schock, Adam Kinzinger, Budget, Congress, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Earmarks, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Illinois, Illinois State Government, Liberals, Regulation, Republicans, Taxes, The Heritage Foundation, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Last week, the House of Representatives passed HR 1. This bill was the 2011 continuing appropriations act, the bill that makes provisions to fund the federal government. It also contained $61 billion in cuts.

There were 21 different cost cutting measures in the bill. So, how did our Illinois Representatives vote on HR 1? How many of the amendments did our reps vote “yes” for?

Republicans
Walsh (R, 8th): 100%
Manzullo (R, 16th): 95%
Roskam (R, 6th): 81%
Johnson (R, 15th): 76%
Shimkus (R, 19th): 67%
Hultgren (R, 14th): 62%
Schilling (R, 17th): 57%
Schock (R, 18th): 57%
Dold (R, 10th): 38%
Kinzinger (R, 11th): 38%
Biggert (R, 13th): 25%

Congratulations to Joe Walsh for being a 100% man! Manzullo and Roskam are not too shabby, either. Sadly a few of our newest Reps are in Democrat territory with their weak support of the most number of cost cutting measures. I mean, 38 percent for Kinzinger?? That is horrible. Is Adam Kinzinger a big government guy after all his claims on the campaign trail? Left-winger Biggert’s Democrat-styled votes are no surprise. One is continually surprised she is still pretending to be a Republican.
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Pelosi’s Last Lame Duck- What Could Go Wrong?

November 5, 2010 | Filed Under Budget, Capitalism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, President, Stimulus, Taxes, The Heritage Foundation, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

Once again we get a fly-on-the-wall perspective of what is going on in the office of “our congressman,” hereafter known as our lame duck congressman.

So, now that he’s been pitched out on his left-wing, what will “our congressman” be planning for that lame duck session?

Let’s peek in and see…

Me, I call it a zombie congress instead of a lame duck congress. After all, it’s dead men walking, dead men that don’t know they are dead, dead men that still feed off the living blood of our taxes, dead men that eat our flesh, killing us all.

UN Ripe for US Budget Cutting

October 19, 2010 | Filed Under 00Publius Contributor, Abortion, Budget, Catholicism, Economy/Finances, Human Rights, Kevin Roeten, The Heritage Foundation, UN | Comments Off

-By Kevin Roeten

Reducing the US budget over $5 billion/year sounds too good to be true. Actually 1.2 billion is the US share (22% in 2010). But the ‘peacekeeping budget’ is a whopping $7.8 billion/yr, of which the US is responsible for over 27%, or $2.1 billion. The offending party—the UN. The place—Manhattan. The damage—at least $3.3 billion/year.

In the 2/3/10 column by Brett Schaeffer, Time to Rein in the U.N.’s Budget | The Heritage Foundation, he explains the details included in the 2010-2011 2-yr UN budget. [9] If one includes the US voluntary contributions to the UN, the US exceeds $5 billion annually. [13]
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Hypocrisy Is Big Labor’s Big Problem

September 7, 2010 | Filed Under AFL-CIO, Business, Capitalism, Free Trade, Jobs, Liberals, Public Employees Unions, SEIU, The Heritage Foundation, Unions, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Deroy Murdock over at the National Review has a great column detailing a dozen or so instances of rank hypocrisy perpetrated by unions. Deroy says that for all of Bog Labor’s yammering about worker’s right: “Such class-warfare sloganeering would be easier to stomach if Big Labor were internally consistent.”

Murdock gives all sorts of examples of unions violating their own supposedly closely held tenets. From unions firing employees for trying to organize the union’s own office workers, to unions using non-union labor to build their own offices, unions prove to be filled with liars and hypocrites.

Check out Deroy Murdock’s piece, “Hypocrisy Is Big Labor’s Big Problem .”
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Video: Ind. Gov. Mitch Daniels Says Obamacare Has Devastating Consequences

August 27, 2010 | Filed Under Business, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, Health, Indiana, Liberals, Taxes, The Heritage Foundation, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

Governor Daniels also offered an op ed to go with his video…

We’ve been through a global recession. Now we’re fighting through a stalled recovery. Revenues are the lowest they’ve been in half a century. Their finances a wreck, many states have effectively sunk into bankruptcy.

Indiana is still afloat. In fact, we’ve fared better than most. We continue to meet our obligations without raising taxes, and the reserves we carefully built and protected will get us through the downturn.
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Four Key Minutes from Obama’s Failed Healthcare Summit

March 1, 2010 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Communism, Congress, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, GOP, Government, Corruption, Health, House of Representatives, Liberals, Republicans, Senate, Socialism, Taxes, The Heritage Foundation, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

A great video from the Heritage Foundation that shows how the Republicans really made Obama look the fool at his healthcare summit last week.

My favorite is Louise Slaughter (D, NY) who was all upset that a women in here district was “wearing her dead sister’s teeth” because the woman could not afford dental care. But, guess what Louise? Your idiotic example is meaningless to this healthcare discussion because Obamacare DOES NOT COVER DENTISTS! Obamacare would not solve your constituent’s false teeth crisis!

The Debt Limit Made Simple

December 23, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Campaign Finance, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, GOP, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, President, Senate, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, The Heritage Foundation, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

The Heritage Foundation brings us “The Debt Limit Made Simple. This video takes you to the United Estates–a gated community in sunny Florida–to help you understand the impact of Congress decision to annually raise our nations debt limit without addressing the out-of-control spending that keeps us buried in debt.

Four Videos Serve as Dose of Reality on Obamacare

August 21, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Free Trade, Freedom, Government, Corruption, Health, Journalism, Liberals, Media Bias, President, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, The Heritage Foundation, Video, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Heritage Foundation has four excellent videos each taking on an injurious and troublesome aspect of Obamacare that are a must view for those looking for ammunition with which to shoot down the president’s policies.

Rather than debate the substance, the White House is in full campaign mode in order to label any opposition to its government-heavy health reform agenda as “misinformation” or “myths you’ve heard.” Case in point: The White House now has a taxpayer-funded Web site to “reality check” credible criticisms and arguments. Problem is the videos “debunking” each “myth” are low on facts. See our response below.

First up is a video addressing the many millions that will lose their health insurance quite despite what the president keeps telling us. Far from being able to keep our insurance “if we like it,” the truth is that 88 million will lose their policies whether they like it or not upon the passage of Obamacare.
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Workers Deserve Better Than a Big Labor Lackey

January 9, 2009 | Filed Under 00Publius Contributor, Barack Obama, Business, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Jobs, News, President, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, The Heritage Foundation, Unions | Comments Off

The Heritage Foundation

Today may well turn out to be a major turning point in the history of the labor movement, and not because Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) will face questions at her Secretary of Labor confirmation hearings in the Senate. No, the bigger story is the voice vote conference call Service Employees International Union president Andy Stern has scheduled for 2 pm today. If things go the way Stern plans, the SEIU board will approve the forced break up of the third largest SEIU affiliate in the country, SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West (UHW). The UHW’s sin? Their leader, Sal Rosselli, has been a big critic of Stern’s leadership. The Los Angeles Times reports:

The Most Fraudulent Election Ever

November 4, 2008 | Filed Under 00Publius Contributor, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Government, Corruption, Media Bias, News, President, Society/Culture, The Heritage Foundation, Vote Fraud | Comments Off

-By The Heritage Foundation

According to federal election law, any presidential campaign that participates in public financing is automatically audited after an election. When Barack Obama broke his promise to the American people by forgoing the public financing system, his campaign became the first since public financing became law to have a chance of not being audited. Federal law does still allow the Federal Election Commission to audit a presidential campaign that doesn’t participate in public financing, but at least four of the six FEC commissioners must first vote to pursue an investigation “for cause.” No doubt there is great “cause” to be concerned about Obama’s fundraising efforts.

Late last month, the venerable and independent National Journal tested reports that the Obama campaign’s online fundraising system was built to facilitate fraud. Veteran journalist Neil Munro bought two pre-paid American Express gift cards worth $25 each to donate to the Obama and McCain campaigns online. Munro purchased the cards with cash and then accessed the Obama and McCain campaign websites from a public library in Fairfax, Va. The Obama campaign’s site accepted the $25 donation, but the McCain campaign’s site rejected it . Contacted by National Journal, the McCain campaign explained its system rejected the donation because American Express could not verify that the donor lived at the address given with the online contribution.
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Empty Ethics Rhetoric Exposed

August 29, 2008 | Filed Under 00Publius Contributor, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Government, Corruption, News, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, The Heritage Foundation | Comments Off

-By The Heritage Foundation

DENVER

Important FEC Ruling for Blogger Freedom…

August 15, 2008 | Filed Under 00Publius Contributor, Inernet, Media Bias, News, The Heritage Foundation, The Law | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Apparently the FEC just made a good ruling for our side. The Heritage Foundation has the report…

Blogger Freedom Reaffirmed

Bloggers and web site operators may support, oppose, link to, and work cooperatively with federal political candidates. This freedom was reaffirmed when the newly re-constituted Federal Election Commission released its first two enforcement cases August 12.

The Commission’s refusal to regulate blogging and internet sites is not new, but it is notable is that the pro-blogger decision was made within a week or two of the new Commission taking office. Of the scores of items on its docket, the new Commission chose to address this one first: quite likely because they wanted to send a signal to that bloggers are free to engage in politics

Specifically, the Commission said that Gordon Fischer, a former state political party chairman, did not violate election law when he maintained a web site and blog (Iowa True Blue) promoting Barack Obama and criticizing Hillary Clinton. (Our friends at CCP note that the complaint was filed by a Clinton supporter: observing that all too many FEC complaints are filed for political harassment
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The Silence Is Deafening

June 21, 2008 | Filed Under 00Publius Contributor, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Government, Corruption, News, Society/Culture, Taxes, The Heritage Foundation | Comments Off

-By The Heritage Foundation

The year 2008 is not just an election year. It is also the year that marks the beginning of a demographic transformation that threatens the fiscal stability of this country. Already, Social Security, . But this year, the first of the nearly 80 million baby boomers begin to draw out, instead of contribute to, our entitlement programs. The consequences of this shift will come quickly and will be staggering.

Already Medicare spends more each year than it takes in. In just six years, Medicare will draw more than 45% of its budget from general revenues. Already Social Security and Medicare consume 7.5% of our GDP. Unless changes are made, that figure will jump to 13% by 2030. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the increased deficits or taxation required to cover this explosion in spending would cripple the U.S. economy. A diverse coalition of 16 budget experts from seven think tanks (including American Enterprise Institute, Brookings Institution, Concord Coalition, The Heritage Foundation, New America Foundation, Progressive Policy Institute and Urban Institute) met for more than a year before producing a paper calling for honest political leadership on the issue. Now at least one congressman has come forward with an honest proposal.
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The Bear Truth (Polar, that is)

May 5, 2008 | Filed Under 00Publius Contributor, Democrats/Leftists, Energy, Global Warming, Media Bias, News, Society/Culture, The Heritage Foundation | 1 Comment

-By The Heritage Foundation

Environmentalists are in their normal state of righteous frenzy over the Department of Interior’s continued deliberations on whether or not to list the polar bear as “endangered” pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. Responding to a California judge’s decision ordering Interior to make their decision by May 15, Natural Resources Defense Council’s Andrew Wetzler said, “The science is absolutely unambiguous that the polar bear deserves protection.” The Center for Biological Diversity’s Kassie Siegel added: “The science is perfectly clear. There’s no dispute. The polar bear is an endangered species.” This rhetoric is 100% typical of the environmental movement. All scientists agree with us. There is no debate. Politicians need to conform to our agenda or we’ll all soon die. The problem in this case is that someone forgot to tell the Canadians.

An independent committee of scientists told the Canadian government last Friday that the polar bears are not, in fact, threatened or endangered. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada did give the bears a “special concern” status, though, Canada’s weakest classification. Chairman Jeffrey Hutchings announced: “Based on the best available information at hand, there was insufficient reason to think that the polar bear was at imminent risk of extinction.” Hutchings went on to explain that the polar bears were facing threats from over-hunting and oil and gas development, but that the current modeling is not reliable enough to determine exactly what impact global warming is having on the bear.

Canadian scientists are not the only ones who do not believe the polar bears are becoming extinct. The native Inuit Indians, a society that has depended on the polar bears for its livelihood for generations, also is against listing the polar bear as endangered. The Inuit no longer trust scientists after researchers drastically underestimated bowhead whale populations in the Arctic. Jayko Alooloo told The Canadian Press: “We don’t believe the scientists’ information any more. (Hunters) will ignore new quotas.”
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