Does Libertarian for NY Gov. Kristin Davis, have a bit of a "conservative" streak?

From Eric Dondero:

Former Manhattan Madame, and media celebrity Kristin Davis, currently seeking the Libertarian nomination for New York Governor, issued a press release Wednesday, praising California's initiative to legalize marijuana.

Said Davis:

"Californian's have figured out what New Yorker's need to figure out. Marijuana is a $10 billion a year industry in New York State. Its legalization and taxation will help New York's current financial crises."

But in an interview with NY NewsBlaze, Davis took a very unique approach to legalization, giving it a bit of a conservative twist.

From NewsBlaze:

Davis said she would strongly support an Opt-Out clause where localities could opt by local vote not to sell marijuana in that locality. "I believe in home rule and local option. Some counties may choose to allow legal pot sales, others may not."

Such a view could come as a relief to more socially conservative Upstate towns and localities. And could win her some critical Upstate voting support.

Blue Collar Republican files for MO State Rep. against his own Wife

Livin' Lovin'... Heartbreaker??

From Cliff Thies:

Missouri state Representative Linda Fischer, a Democrat, is running for re-election this November. She is being challenged by her husband, John Fischer, who has re-registered as a Republican.

This might be funny if it weren’t so sad. The two are involved in a messy court proceeding. Their marriage was probably already over. Also, Mr. Fischer had been formerly employed for almost thirty years in Chrysler Corporation automobile assembly plants, before he took early retirement.

He was just a Regular Joe forklift drive; she a powerful state legislator

He says he is running for the workers of Missouri and, actually, this could be true. Our economy is in a shambles. A lot of people are hurting. Workers, small business, investors, people in our cities and our rural places, people reflecting the great diversity of our country.

From KMOV.com:

"I figured if I'm going to be on my own, then I'm going to have to do what suits me," he said. "I'm standing up for people who lost their job. I don't think they're being represented fairly in this state because they do not take care of the working man."

We need leaders who speak to our shared interest in reviving our economy, not people who speak about redistributing of what remains of our wealth.

In Missouri District 107 (east central MO - Bonne Terre) Vote Republican!

What does the Health Care Freedom of Choice Act actually do?

The Act is sponsored by the American Legislative Exchange Council,(ALEC) a coalition of conservative, moderate and libertarian state legislators who support "Limited Government, Free Markets and Federalism."

The main objectives of the legislation:

• Ensuring Access to Health Services—Without Waiting Lists. When consumers control the dollars, they make the decisions. On the other hand, a single-payer health care —which forces patients to enroll in a one-size-fits-all plan with rich benefits and weak cost-sharing—will cause spending to skyrocket and policymakers to ration care as a cost-containment measure.

• ALEC's Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act ensures a person's right to pay directly for medical care. Single-payer systems, like in Canada, make it illegal for citizens to go outside the government's health care plan and contract for their own medical services. Cost overruns require most single-payer plans to restrict patient choices, and instead mandate an "evidence-based" treatment schedule that standardizes care.

• ALEC's Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act would block legislation that imposes costly, bureaucratic penalties for choosing to obtain or decline health coverage. This provision strikes at the heart of an individual mandate—implemented in Massachusetts and elsewhere—that penalize individuals and businesses for failing to purchase health insurance.

Where does it stand?

According to ALEC, legislation has been filed in 35 states:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. (Arizona's HCR 2014, a revised version of the ALEC model, will be put on the ballot in 2010.)

The legislation has since passed and been signed into law in Idaho, and is on the verge of becomming the law of the land in Virginia and Oklahoma.

In Texas there are calls for Gov. Rick Perry to call a special session of the legislature for HCFCA.

Georgia Senate overwhelmingly passes Health Care Freedom of Choice Act

All Republicans vote in favor

If this is not repealed "there will be virtually no activity by a state, a citizen, or a business that the feds would not someday be able to regulate." -- Bob Barr, 2008 Libertarian Presidential candidate

From Eric Dondero:

Encouraging news out of Georgia. The State Senate has just passed the Health Care Freedom of Choice Act by an overwhelming margin of 31 to 17. All Republicans voted for the measure. They were joined by only one single Democrat.

The bill was sponsored by members of the Georgia Senate Liberty Caucus, including Sen. Judson Hill of Marietta who called it the "best way to protect Georgians from the Democrat-led Congress' attempt to socialize health care through their public option health care mandate."

From Quarterdeck blog:

Georgia Senator Judson Hill (photo) was joined by 29 other Senate Republicans last Thursday passing legislation protecting Georgians’ rights to choose their own health care. Senator Hill authored Senate Bill 317 and has been working the past year to prohibit any government, state or federal, from forcing its citizens to participate in any health care system.

Under Senate Bill 317 Georgia’s citizens would be protected from being forced by the government to purchase health care.

The Bill now goes on to the House. Republican Governor Sonny Perdue is fully expected to sign the law once it passes the House.

Fmr. Georgia Republican Congressman and 2008 Libertarian Presidential candidate Bob Barr wrote in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution "States must challenge Health Care law":

Governor Sonny Perdue, for example, worries how the Peach State will fund what he estimates will be an additional billion dollars of Medicaid spending each year. Private companies, which will be subject to numerous mandates by virtue of the law, face daunting fiscal challenges as well.

Governor Perdue has indicated he will pursue a challenge using lawyers other than the state attorney general, [Democrat] Thurbert Baker, who has refused to lend his office and his name to the project. Perdue, unlike Baker, correctly understands the importance of such a lawsuit; for if the federal government is permitted to enforce mandates such as those in this new law, then there will be virtually no activity by a state, a citizen, or a business that the feds would not someday be able to regulate.

For a full list of GA Senate Liberty Caucus members visit GARLC.org

Public Sector employees causing Higher Private Sector Unemployment

NEW FROM REASON TV!

Nick Gillespie, Reason Editor, looks at the economic pie, and how the increasing size of public sector employment is causing private sector employees to lose jobs.

Noted: Public sector employees now make about $8,000 more than their private counterparts.

More than 8 million private sector jobs have been lost in the Obama recession, while the public sector saw a net gain of at least 100,000 jobs.

POLL SHOCKER FROM ZOGBY!! Democrats now backing away from Israel; Republicans overwhelmingly support Jewish State

92% of Republicans on Israel's side; only 42% of Democrats

From Eric Dondero:

In 2008, 78% of all American Jews voted for Barack Hussein Obama for President. Many of the 22% of Jews who voted against him, warned of a coming catastrophe in American foreign policy against Israel, if he were to be elected. The 22% have proven to be correct:

• Obama administration pushback against Israeli warnings over the threat of an Iranian nuclear arsenal.

• Benjamin Netanyahu insulted by Obama at a recent White House visit. Obama walked out of the room in the middle of their meeting, with the excuse, I'm going to have dinner "with Michele and the kids."

• The very latest; threats by the US to vote "present" for the very first time, in the UN Security Council against Israel, in regards to calls to halt further Israeli housing in East Jerusalem.

And now this breaking news from Zogby:

The poll’s findings also highlight the deep partisan gap that continues to grow between Republicans and Democrats, with Democrats having an unfavorable rating of Israel for the first time.

•42% of Democrats had a favorable rating of Israel compared to 92% of Republicans resulting in a 50% gap between the parties.

•While the gap is higher in this poll, the finding is consistent with a recent Gallup poll that had 53% of Democrats with a favorable view compared to 80% of Republicans.

Will this help Republican candidates with the Jewish community heading into the November elections?

Despite repeated attempts, pollster John Zogby was unavailable to provide Libertarian Republican with a comment on this question.

However, Joe Sciarrino, Spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Comm. commented to LR:

"The United States has had a long-standing and strategic partnership with Israel, and over the past year we’ve seen this Administration neglect that relationship. Democrats in Congress who agree with this decision to alienate such a key ally may risk alienating voters come November.”

Photo Minn. Cong. Michele Bachmann addressing the Republican Jewish Coaltion.

Libertarian Wayne Root to Larry King: Yes, Abolish Social Security

Republicans who defend SS risk losing votes to Libertarian, Tea Party

From Eric Dondero:

While mainline Republicans are defending Medicare and Social Security, a growing number of disaffected Tea Party Patriots and Libertarians are saying "hold on a minute!" We actually do want to abolish the program, or at the very least privatize it through a gradualist approach.

The Libertarian Party, which originated the Tea Party protests in 2008, has long advocated abolishment of Social Security.

From the LP Platform:

Retirement planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the government. We favor replacing the current government-sponsored Social Security system with a private voluntary system. The proper source of help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and individuals.

On Monday night, 2008 Libertarian Vice-Presidential candidate, and potential 2012 LP Presidential standardbearer Wayne Root appeared on Larry King. He was joined by local St. Louis Tea Party leader Dana Loesch, who has increasingly become a media spokesman for the nationwide Tea Party movement.

Partial transcript from YouTube video:

KING: We had to pay Social Security. That was a socialist concept. Republicans voted against it at the time.

LOESCH: Oh, I agree. Yeah.

KING: Would anyone turn away Social Security now? Would you do away with it?

LOESCH: I would, yeah.

KING: Would you do away with it?

LOESCH: Yes.

KING: Would you do away with it Wayne?

ROOT: Well, I'd certainly like to. At best I'd do away with it, cause I could find better ways to save and invest my own $15,000 a year... If you put it up for a vote today a majority would want to keep it, but they'd certainly want to privatize a small portion of it... I think I can do better with my $15,000 a year, and I'd like it to be mine. It's mine.

Mainline Republicans who continue to defend failed government entitlement programs risk losing votes to Libertarian Party candidates in 2010. A loss of 3 to 4% in a close Congressional race for instance, to a Libertarian candidate who is advocating privatization, could prove disastrous to many GOP campaigns.

Liberal Columnist Howard Fineman warns Democrats in for "Colossal losses"

Howard Fineman of NewsWeek offers a stunning assessment of Democrats chances for Congress: After surveying the latest polls on Health Care, Fineman finds that the Dems may be in for spectacular losses in November.

From NewsWeek "The numbers don't lie":

On the day the president signed into law the "fix-it" addendum to the massive health-care measure, two new polls show just how fearful and skeptical Americans are about the entire enterprise. If the numbers stay where they are—and it's not clear why they will change much between now and November—then the Democrats really are in danger of colossal losses at the polls.

The first week of salesmanship by the Democrats and the president hasn't done any good. According to the new Rasmussen poll, only 41 percent of Americans think the law is "good for the country," compared with 50 percent who see it as "bad for the country." Last week the ratio was 41–49 percent. Sixty percent think the measure is "likely to increase the deficit"—also a figure unchanged from last week.

In Gallup's new poll... Americans think the law will harm the U.S. economy (44–34 percent), the overall quality of health care in the U.S. (55–29 percent), and the federal balance sheet (61–23 percent).

Fineman also quotes an un-named Democratic Senator who called the bill "political folly."

(H/t Memeo)

The Thomas Jefferson Question: Interview with Texas Freedom Network's Dan Quinn over Textbook controversy

FROM THE EDITOR: Libertarian Republican was fortunate to have the opportunity to interview Dan Quinn, Communications Director, Texas Freedom Network on the recent Textbook controversy concerning the Texas Board of Education. We appreciate Mr. Quinn taking the time to answer these important questions that greatly affect liberals, conservatives and libertarians.

LIBERTARIAN REPUBLICAN: Mr. Quinn, Texas Board of Education members are disputing your assertion that Jefferson was removed from history textbooks. Gail Lowe and Cynthia Duncan have said in national interveiws that what actually happened is that discussion of TJ was moved from the Enlightenment period to the American Revolution. Do you care to dispute that fact?

DAN QUINN: We haven't asserted that the board removed Jefferson from history books. From our live-blogging of the meeting on March 11:

TFNInsider.org

9:27 – The board is taking up remaining amendments on the high school world history course

9:30 – Board member Cynthia Dunbar wants to change a standard having students study the impact of Enlightenment ideas on political revolutions from 1750 to the present. She wants to drop the reference to Enlightenment ideas (replacing with “the writings of”) and to Thomas Jefferson. She adds Thomas Aquinas and others. Jefferson ’s ideas, she argues, were based on other political philosophers listed in the standards. We don’t buy her argument at all. Board member Bob Craig of Lubbock points out that the curriculum writers clearly wanted to students to study Enlightenment ideas and Jefferson . Could Dunbar’s problem be that Jefferson was a Deist? The board approves the amendment, taking Thomas Jefferson OUT of the world history standards

9:40 – We’re just picking ourselves up off the floor. The board’s far-right faction has spent months now proclaiming the importance of emphasizing America ’s exceptionalism in social studies classrooms. But today they voted to remove one of the greatest of America ’s Founders, Thomas Jefferson, from a standard about the influence of great political philosophers on political revolutions from 1750 to today

9:45 – Here’s the amendment Dunbar changed: “explain the impact of Enlightenment ideas from John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Charles de Montesquieu, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and Thomas Jefferson on political revolutions from 1750 to the present.” Here’s Dunbar ’s replacement standard, which passed: “explain the impact of the writings of John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Charles de Montesquieu, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin and Sir William Blackstone.” Not only does Dunbar ’s amendment completely change the thrust of the standard. It also appalling drops one of the most influential political philosophers in American history — Thomas Jefferson.

From our March 12 press release:

TFN.org

"Even as board members continued to demand that students learn about "American exceptionalism," the board stripped Thomas Jefferson from a world history standard about the influence of Enlightenment thinkers on political revolutions from the 1700s to today. In Jefferson 's place, the board's religious conservatives succeeded in inserting Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin. They also removed the reference to "Enlightenment ideas" in the standard, requiring that students should simply learn about the influence of the "writings" of various thinkers (including Calvin and Aquinas)."

We repeated that paragraph in a March 13 blog post summarizing the worst changes the board made:

TFNinsider.org

And if you check our other blog entries, you will note that we have been careful to explain that Jefferson was deleted from that world history standard, not from the "history books."


LIBERTARIAN REPUBLICAN: Mr. Quinn, as you probably know, Thomas Jefferson is a great hero to libertarians. Initially, we libertarians were quite concerned that conservatives were reported to have removed him from history textbooks. In fact, many of us were outraged. But after learning the truth of the matter, our outrage turned to liberal bloggers who initially mis-reported the story. Could you clarify for us the origination of reports that Jefferson had been removed from history textbooks? Did TPM and other liberal bloggers just miscontrue the facts, or were they purposely trying to split libertarians from conservatives by spinning the news?


DAN QUINN: If others have misreported what happened, you'll have to talk with them. But keep in mind that other bloggers were not at the meeting and in many cases were relying on possibly imprecise reports from elsewhere -- much as conservative bloggers were reacting to false reports last year that Christmas had been taken out of social studies textbooks in Texas . Sadly, some people are permitting Lowe and Dunbar to distract them with a red herring. This isn't a contest about how many times Jefferson is listed in the standards, whether those references are in American history or elsewhere. The question is why board members don’t want students to learn that Jefferson, who argued (among other things) that a "wall of separation between church and state" as essential to freedom, was an influential Enlightenment thinker who inspired people around the world struggling for freedom. Moreover, why did the board change the thrust of the standard altogether by removing even the reference to the Enlightenment and replacing Jefferson with Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin and William Blackstone? We have been monitoring this board for 15 years, and the answers to those questions are certainly no mystery to us. This board is controlled by a faction that is hostile to the separation of church and state. In fact, during the same meeting they rejected a proposed standard that would have required students to “examine the reasons the Founding Fathers protected religious freedom in America by barring government from promoting or disfavoring any particular religion over all others.” The board knew that removing other references to Jefferson would be politically impossible. But removing him from a standard about the influence of his ideas on people struggling for freedom around the world, they thought, would be easier. Moreover, it doesn't surprise us in the least that this board would want to water down the influence of Enlightenment thinking on political revolutions from the 1700s to the present. Enlightenment philosophies run counter to their own worldview.


LIBERTARIAN REPUBLICAN: As you're probably aware, a great many libertarians are Darwinists, even Social Darwinists, and are not comfortable with some of the more extreme elements of the Religious Right. We are concerned that some religious conservatives might seek to give parity to Darwinism with theories based on a Creationist view. However, given the misreporting of the Jefferson story, and the misinformation put out by liberal groups based mainly in Austin , how should libertarians trust such reports in the future?


DAN QUINN: As in all things in life, choose your sources carefully, and be particularly wary of politicians spinning wildly in an attempt to justify the indefensible. I note that you mention Talking Points Memo specifically. This is what TPM reported:

TPMMuckracker.talkingpointsmemo.com

“According to TFN: ‘the board stripped Thomas Jefferson from a world history standard about the influence of Enlightenment thinkers on political revolutions from the 1700s to today. In Jefferson 's place, the board's religious conservatives succeeded in inserting Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin. They also removed the reference to 'Enlightenment ideas' in the standard, requiring that students should simply learn about the influence of the 'writings' of various thinkers (including Calvin and Aquinas).”

You didn’t mention Huffington Post, but they reported essentially the same thing, linking back to our blog:

HuffingtonPost.com

Part of the problem here is that Lowe, Dunbar and their supporters want everyone to believe that the bulk of the reporting on what they did has been inaccurate. In fact, much of it hasn’t been. But it serves them to suggest that the reporting has been inaccurate because then bloggers will challenge their critics for supposedly being untruthful. On this point, I highly recommend the following piece:

www.texastribune.org

In short, trusting what you hear from these state board members is perilous.

Regarding science, this board did, in fact, insert creationist/"intelligent design" arguments into our science standards last year in an attempt to challenge the validity of evolutionary theory. One such argument has students study whether the fossil record supports evolutionary theory. The other has students study the complexity of the cell to decide whether natural selection could account for changes in the development and diversity of life. Both are textbook creationist/"intelligent design" arguments ("gaps in the fossil record," "irreducible complexity").

LIBERTARIAN REPUBLICAN: Thank you very much for your time Mr. Quinn.

South Carolina's Andre Bauer: America's New Libertarian Republican SuperStar!

Calls for Constitutional Convention to overturn ObamaCare

by Eric Dondero

In 2006, libertarian Republicans Sarah Palin and Butch Otter won their elections for Governor in Alaska and Idaho.

In 2008, longtime GOP libertarian Tom McClintock was elected to the US Congress from California.

Now, in 2010, a new libertarian Republican superstar has burst upon the scene: South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer.

He's held office for a few years already, elected on the ticket with Governor Mark Sanford in South Carolina. But he was under the radar until a month or two ago.

Lt. Governor Andre Bauer got himself in some hot water with the liberal media, in South Carolina and nationally, for suggesting back in December that welfare was not a right, and that those who needed governmental assistance should eventually seek private alternatives, rather than spending a lifetime on the public dole.

These are the comments that garnered him national attention:

"My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don't think too much further than that. And so what you've got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior. They don't know any better," Bauer said. "You see, for the first time in the history of this country, we've got more people voting for a living than we do working for a living."

He was immediately labeled a "Social Darwinist." To his great credit he didn't back down. And while liberal media talking heads and leftwing bloggers jeered, libertarians, including Libertarian Republican blog, jumped to his defense. He became a hero of sorts to many on the Right, not only among libertarians, but also many social conservatives.

See our original article on Bauer from Jan. 24: "Social Darwinist Republican? SC Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer makes some stunningly libertarian statements against Society's Moochers"

Bauer in addition to serving as Lt. Governor is also a candidate for the Governorship. The most current poll has him just behind the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, in a field of 5 strong candidates. The field includes Rep. Nikki Halley, also a favorite among libertarian Republicans.

Now, Bauer has just taken his increasing libertarian Republican popularity to a new level.

Appearing on Greta last night on Fox, Bauer presented his idea for a Constitutional Convention of 34 States to overturn ObamaCare.

Two other States' Lt. Govs already on board with Bauer's proposal

Excerpted Transcript from Greta:

Well, the people I talk too in SC believe that the federal government is running roughshod over our personal rights and liberties, and we want them back quite frankly.

I've been calling legislators throughout the country, talked to several Lt. Governors... asking them to join us. It would take 34 states to actually have a constitutional convention, 38 states to ratify it... I talked to David Dewhurst in Texas yesterday, he was excited about it. I talked to Peter Kinder over in Missouri. He was excited about it.

I know people realize that here in South Carolina we're extremely conservative, and we've watched what the federal government has done. And we've moved towards socialism. People are scared. They don't want it! We know that only 20% of the entire country want it. So, I fell very confident it will pass in SC and many other states, as well.

I sure don't want to give up on this battle. What we're losing 1/6th of the entire economy was socialized last week. I can't think of a battle more important than stopping what's happening in Washington right now.

The federal government shouldn't be involved in the health care business in the first place. I'm a free market individual. I don't think the government ought to be involved in this. It shouldn't be mandating who has health care coverage. We are way over-stepping what our founding fathers ever dreamed of.

Bauer also expressed skepticism that the route taken by many Republican State AGs of overturning the state mandate, would actually work. But he did express his support for their efforts.

Watch the full video interview at Breitbart.com

Photos - Peter Kinder MO Lt. Gov. left, David Dehurst TX Lt. Gov. right.

Palin announces endorsements of Military Vets for Congress: Two of them Libertarian Republicans

From Eric Dondero:

Sarah Palin announced on her Facebook page late yesterday three endorsements for US Congress. The three Republicans include: Adam Kinzinger in Illinois, Allen West in Florida and Vaughn Ward in Idaho.

Both Kinzinger and West have been featured here at Libertarian Republican on numerous occasions. Both come solidly from the libertarian wing of the GOP. The third Vaughn Ward is more standard conservative, but was once described by the Idaho Statesman as coming from the "Sarah Palin wing of the GOP."

All three are Veterans of the United States Military.

Ward in Idaho, Kinzinger in Illinois & West in Florida

Excerpts:

The first is Major Vaughn Ward, a fourth-generation Idaho native who grew up on his family’s farm in Shoshone and is running in Idaho’s 1st Congressional District. Coming from a family with a proud military tradition, Vaughn joined the Marine Corps after college and was finishing up his service when the September 11th attacks occurred. He put his life on hold and heeded his country’s call – serving first as a CIA Operations Officer and later volunteering with the Marine Corps for a combat tour in Iraq, during which he was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V. After returning from Iraq, Vaughn went to work for the McCain/Palin campaign. I was grateful for his support then, and I’m happy to support him now...

Vaughn knows that real job growth comes from the private sector, not government. He believes in free market reforms, tax relief for families and small businesses, and a return to a constitutionally limited government that lives within its means. He’ll carry the conservative banner to Washington and will rein in the reckless growth of government to get it back on our side.

The second veteran is Captain Adam Kinzinger, a decorated special-operations pilot who flew combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Adam is running for Illinois’ 11th Congressional District against a freshman incumbent congresswoman who seemed to pull a bait and switch on voters to get elected. She sounded like a blue dog on the campaign trail, but didn’t vote like one in Washington. Instead, she voted in lockstep with the Pelosi agenda – on Obamacare, the stimulus, cap-and-tax – and the list goes on.

The third veteran is Lieutenant Colonel Allen West, a decorated war hero who’s served with distinction in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of you may have heard of Allen from a speech he gave last year that became a viral video on YouTube with over 2 million viewers. Allen’s personal story is a testament to the commonsense conservative belief that our nation’s greatness is rooted in freedom, because with freedom comes equal opportunity, and that, coupled with hard work, leads to success. Allen is a small government fiscal conservative running against a leftwing ideologue who’s marched to the beat of Nancy Pelosi on every issue from cap-and-tax to the stimulus, TARP, and, of course, Obamacare.

All Three serving their Country in more ways than One

Palin went on to comment:

I believe that these great veterans will fight for us in D.C. to uphold and defend our constitution as courageously in the halls of Congress as they did on the field of battle field.

Of note - Vaughn is running in a 3-way primary for the opportunity to challenge incumbent Democrat Rep. Walt Minnick. Ironically, Minnick is the only Democrat in the entire US House with any libertarian-leanings. Kinzinger and West already have their respective nominations.

allenwestforcongress.com
Kinzinger for Congress electadam.com
vaughwardforcongress.com

Calling BS! on TPM's coverage of Texas Board of Education decision on Jefferson

Top-rated Liberal Blog claimed Rightwingers tried to remove him

From Eric Dondero:

Here's how this story was first reported by the ultra-liberal TPM on March 12:

"In all honesty, it was a debacle for public education," says Dan Quinn of the Texas Freedom Network, a liberal watchdog that tracks the board.

Here's a rundown of the highlights of the new draft standards, according to media reports and the Texas Freedom Network:

•The board added a requirement that economics students "analyze the decline of the U.S. dollar including abandonment of the gold standard." Students must also learn about Austrian economist Friedrich von Hayek, author of libertarian urtext The Road to Serfdom.

•According to TFN: "the board stripped Thomas Jefferson from a world history standard about the influence of Enlightenment thinkers on political revolutions from the 1700s to today. In Jefferson's place, the board's religious conservatives succeeded in inserting Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin. They also removed the reference to 'Enlightenment ideas' in the standard, requiring that students should simply learn about the influence of the 'writings' of various thinkers (including Calvin and Aquinas)."

Of course this was picked up by just about every Christian-bashing leftwing blog in the blogosphere under headlines such as, "Christian majority removes Jefferson from History Textbooks."

Conservatives heart libertarian hero Jefferson

Now, here's what really happened as explained by Board Chairwoman Gail Lowe who is a member of the conservative majority on the 15 member board:

"The only individual mentioned more times in the curriculum standards than Thomas Jefferson is George Washington,” said Gail Lowe, chairwoman of the 15-member board. “We expect students at the elementary level, in middle school and in high school to study the Founding Fathers and to be well versed in their contributions to our country. That includes Thomas Jefferson and his legacy," she said.

Although Jefferson had been listed in a World History standard, the board removed his name from a list of European Enlightenment philosophers that included John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Charles de Montesquieu and Jean Jacques Rousseau.

“This was inappropriate placement of Jefferson’s name,” said Lowe of the World History proposal. “Jefferson was not himself an Enlightenment philosopher, although he was heavily influenced by the writings of these individuals. But to say the State Board of Education has removed him from the TEKS is inaccurate and irresponsible,” said Lowe.

Lowe continued, “Jefferson not only penned the words of the Declaration of Independence, served as the third president of the United States and was father of the University of Virginia, but his promotion of the ideals of a limited federal government and states’ rights also permeated our nation for generations. No study of American history would be complete without his inclusion,” she said.

H/t Texas AFP

In St. Louis, Art with a Rightwing message not Protected Free Speech

In 2007, the City of St. Louis told property rights activist Jim Roos to take down his mural citing code violations against large signs. Roos, a property owner, has been battling the city for years over eminent domain.

He argued that his political statment was art. He got the libertarian Institute for Justice to take his case.

Yesterday, the court ruled against Roos and the Institute. From St. Louis Today:

Monday, U.S. District Judge Henry Edward Autrey rejected that argument, saying the mural — which featured the addresses of two affiliated websites — is a "classic example" of the definition of a sign.

"The painting is outside and is used to advertise, identify, direct and attract attention to what petitioners believe is eminent domain abuse. It advertises online addresses for more information," Autrey wrote. "It attracts attention to the perceived eminent domain abuse."

Autrey also ruled that the city's sign ordinance is constitutional because it is "content neutral" — restrictions on signs are based on size and place, not subject

Roos was represented by the Institute for Justice, an Arlington, Va.-based libertarian advocacy group. Lawyers for the group seized on a clause in the city's sign code that exempts art, as well as flags and fraternal crests, from the restrictions on signs.

Roos and the Institute for Justice intend to appeal the ruling.

Further info - Institute for Justice, www.ij.org

Three Cheers for Idaho and Gov. Butch Otter - Standing up to Federal Mandates on Health Care

Good ole' fasioned Cowboy Conservatism

by Paul Jacob

By hook and by crook — ignoring the constitution and twisting parliamentary rules — the president and his congressional allies are succeeding in imposing command-and-control health care on all Americans.

If the new law is allowed to stand, the scraps of freedom we still enjoy in matters of health care will dwindle as provisions of the bill kick in. And that’s only the prequel. Pelosi and other Democrats promise to introduce even more constrictive legislation once Obamacare Round One has been rammed through.

Friends of freedom aren’t giving up. There’s an election in 2010, for one thing. But many state governments aren’t waiting for that. The Idaho legislature just passed the Idaho Health Care Freedom Act, which states, in part, that “every person within the state of Idaho is and shall be free to choose or decline to choose any mode of securing health care services without penalty or threat of penalty.” Governor Otter is signing the Act because, in his view, health care laws should treat people as individuals “rather than as an amorphous mass whose only purpose in this world is to obey federal mandates.”

Idaho is the first state to pass such a measure, but similar legislation has been proposed in 22 others. Such declarations will most likely have only symbolic significance if Obamacare remains in effect and other legal challenges on the grounds of federalism get beaten down. But those are two big ifs. Americans aren’t ready to surrender to the health care commissars just yet.

Paul Jacob is the former National Director of the Libertarian Party, fmr. President of US Term Limits and fmr. National Petition Drive Coordinator for Property Rights and Spending Limits. His blog is ThisisCommonSense.com

Newsy Video: The McCain vs. Hayworth battle for US Senate in Arizona

From the Editor:

This was sent to us from our friends at Newsy.com in regards to our recent coverage of Palin's visit to Arizona. Informative and thought-provoking.

Please take a moment to participate in this week's LR poll (sidebar): Palin's endorsement of McCain - good move, or bad?

Sarah Palin: A "libertarian tool" for the GOP?

From Eric Dondero:

The Las Vegas Review-Journal covered the Tea Party protest in Searchlight over the weekend. The article - POLITICAL EYE: Tea Party dogma difficult to define, Even Sarah Palin stirs mixed feelings in the movement by Benjamin Spillman and Steve Tetraeult. Spillman and Tetraeult described the keynoter Sarah Palin as a "tool" to help the Republican Party win libertarian support.

From LVRJ:

Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin greets fans as she makes her way to the stage to speak at the Tea Party Express event billed as the "Showdown in Searchlight," held Saturday at an open-air desert site 2.3 miles north of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's hometown of Searchlight.

Some see the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate as a unifying force and a woman who articulates the feelings of people angry and afraid of government under President Barack Obama.

Others see Palin as a tool for Republican politicians to win the support of the libertarian-leaning Tea Party movement.

Later in the piece the local Libertarian Party Chairman expresses dissapointment that Palin didn't back primary challenger J.D. Hayworth for the GOP nomination in nearby Arizona. Continuing:

Palin's Friday speech in Arizona endorsing her former presidential running mate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., against self-proclaimed "consistent conservative" J.D. Hayworth tapped into Tea Party movement concerns. McCain's stances on immigration and other issues have prompted some to question his conservative credentials.

"It is disappointing but not surprising," said Liz Kerby, former chairwoman of the Nye County Libertarian Party, of Palin's support for McCain.

Actually, in many ways the reverse may be true. Palin may be a "Republican tool" of the libertarian movement.

Palin has had many Libertarian Party supporters over the years. Her first campaign manager in her runs for Mayor of Wasilla was identified by the Boston Globe (Oct. 2008), as a "Libertarian." In 2005, she attended two local Libertarian Party meetings in Anchorage (Wed. night supper club sponsored by LPA Sec. Rob Clift). And in 2006 the entire board of the Libertarian Party of Alaska endorsed her candidacy. Additionally, the LP candidate against her on the ballot Billy Toien, publicly backed her campaign the last three days of the race.

In 2007/08, all three co-founders of "Draft Sarah Palin for VP" were self-described "libertarians."

Photo hat tip The Examiner

FBI raids Christians in Michigan, same day Muslim terrorists blow up Moscow Subway

Ayn Randist blogger Mary at BeJohnGalt.com highlights the irony of the timing of the Obama Administration's FBI raids against the Christian group Hutaree on the very same day that 37 Russian commuters were killed by Muslim terrorists in Moscow.

Background from The Detroit News:

At least seven people, including some from Michigan, have been arrested in raids by a FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana as part of an investigation into an Adrian-based Christian militia group, a person familiar with the matter said.

On Sunday, a source close to the investigation in Washington, D.C. confirmed that FBI agents were conducting activities in Washtenaw and Lenawee counties over the weekend in connection to Hutaree, a Christian militia group. Detroit FBI Special Agent Sandra Berchtold told The Detroit News the federal warrants in the case are under court seal and declined further comment.

Hours later the news came from various major media sources, of the Terrorist Bombing in Moscow (via MSNBC):

MOSCOW - Two female suicide bombers blew themselves up on Moscow's subway system as it was jam-packed with rush-hour passengers Monday, killing at least 37 people, officials said.

Witnesses described panic at two stations, with commuters falling over each other in dense smoke and dust as they tried to escape the worst attack on the Russian capital in six years.

The head of Russia's main security agency said preliminary investigation places the blame on rebels from the restive Caucasus region that includes Chechnya... the bombs were filled with bolts and iron rods.

Mary co-editor at BeJohnGalt.com responds:

Upon seeing the headline about the FBI making raids on a terrorist group in Michigan, one would only assume that it would be Islamic terrorists being targeted. After all, Dearborn, MI has one of the largest Arab populations outside the Middle East and Muslims are always talking about jihad against the infidels. There are reports of Islamic military training camps in all areas of the United States. But, the raid was directed at a Christian militia...

Meanwhile two female suicide bombers killed 37 people at subway stops in Russia. The suicide bombers were from Chechnya. While the politically-correct article doesn’t mention it, guess what religion the people of Chechnya are?

Editor's Note - We are adding BeJohnGalt.com, a pro-defense free market site, to our Blog Roll.

Nevada Rep. says she's not concerned about individual mandate: "Oh, no" Constitution is a flexible document

Libertarian columnist Vin Suprynowicz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal sardonically opined on Sunday, "Please don't call it State Socialism." He mentioned hearing his local Congresswoman on a radio interview interpreting the US Constitution as entirely open to interpretation.

From the LV Review-Journal, March 29:

We're told that for some reason we're not allowed to call the Obama-Reid-Pelosi agenda "socialism," "communism," "Marxism," "state socialism" "fascism," or anything else that might sound unpleasant...

Telling us we're not "allowed" to use an accurate label for something doesn't change what it is.

On the radio this week I heard Congresscritter Titus asked whether she's concerned about state lawsuits challenging the new federal mandate that everyone will have to buy "suitable" health insurance. "Oh, no," she said, "The Constitution has been interpreted all kinds of ways, so I'm not concerned about that."

This from a woman -- a supposedly well-educated college professor -- who swore a solemn oath to "protect and defend the Constitution" 14 months ago.

At least four Republican candidates have filed to run against Rep. Titus, including Constitutionalist and retired Air Force Col. Ed Bridges and Tea Party Patriot Dr. Joe Heck.

Rep. Alan Grayson misfires: Accuses Jewish Republican of lying about Anti-Semitic threats

Says Republicans making stories up for political gain, just like Hitler and the Reichstag Fire

On the Mark Thompson show heard on Sirius/XM radio (transcript via Politico) controversial liberal Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida made the following remarks, regarding recent incidences of violence reported by Democrat congressmen as a result of the Health Care vote, and additional reports by the GOP:

MARK THOMPSON: Yeah, this is crazy. And they’re suggesting ... the Republicans are defending themselves by saying this is happening on both sides. This is not happening on both sides.

REP. GRAYSON: Well, I think that’s what they said about the burning of the Reichstag, if I recall correctly.

And what's being described as a "stray bullet" by Richmond Police, pierced the window of Cong. Cantor's congressional office early last week. In a press conference Cantor further revealed (via Plumline):

I received threatening emails. But I will not release them, because I believe such actions will only encourage more to be sent.

Other reports suggest the emails received were of an Anti-Semitic nature. Congressman Cantor is Jewish.

He has confirmed to Politico that:

he has received threats because he is Jewish.

Note - Congressman Cantor's district includes Richmond and surrounding areas. The Congressman also serves as Minority Whip in the House.

IMPORTANT UPDATE!!!

Our friends at JammieWearingFool and GatewayPundit are just now breaking this story...

A Muslim Man in Philadelphia is charged with threatening to Kill Rep. Eric Cantor and his family. The announcement just came from the US Attorney General's office.

A YouTube video from the suspect shows him saying, "You receive my bullets in your office. Remember they will be placed in your heads. You and your children..."

New Rand Paul Republican for Senate ad: Trey Grayson weak on Defense

KENTUCKY SENATE RACE

Rand Paul: Believes in a Strong Defense, Opposes closing Guantanamo Bay, Believes Iran is a Serious Threat.

Trey Grayson: Looked forward to "working with Obama"

Liberty in Action! Florida RLC meets with Lt. Gov., Legislators in Tallahassee

Health Care Repeal Act on top of the Agenda

by Eric Dondero

The Republican Libety Caucus was founded in Tallahassee, Florida in June of 1990. The Florida RLC is the oldest of all of the groups' chapters. In many ways it was the FL RLC that launched the nationwide Republican Liberty movement. It took than many years, and a great deal of hard work to gain influence in state politics. But they have now arrived to the point that top elected officials in Tallahasee virtually roll out the red carpet for the yearly visit of Libertarian Republicans.

Lt. Governor Jeff Kottcamp of the Melbourne area, has long identified himself as a "free marketeer" GOPer. The Palm Beach Post even labeled him "libertarian." It was Kottcamp who served as host for visiting RLCers last weekend.

Longtime RLCer Phil Blumel who was actually there at the founding of the organization in 1990, reports:

About 35 RLCers from around the state attended this week the 2010 Liberty Days at the Capitol, the RLC's annual grassroots lobbying trek to Tallahassee, in the midst of the national battle against ObamaCare.

The timing was perfect. The RLC's first event was a hearing before the House Healthcare Regulation Policy Committee, in which Rep. Scott Plakon - sponsor of the Healthcare Freedom Act - made his case for protecting Floridians from the individual mandates included in the national bill. His bill (HJR 37) to do that passed the committee 10-3 amid cheers from the RLCers present.

"It is our duty to step up and reassert the rights of Floridians, in this case protecting our citizen's rights and freedoms to make appropriate decisions as it relates to their own health care," said Plakon.
The next day, RLCers met with more legislators and aides, including Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp who met with both the RLCers as a group and privately with RLCFL Chair Will Pitts.

Several RLCers attended the press conference of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum who announced his intention to be one of the nine or so state attorney generals to sue the federal government as soon as the ObamaCare bill was signed by the president.

"There are two basic principles here," McCollum said. "Number one that Congress has exceeded its powers in terms of its requiring the individual mandate that anybody has to buy a health care policy or suffer a penalty of some sort, a fine or a tax. And number two that it violates the 10th Amendment rights of the states in that it goes far beyond an unfunded mandate and literally would cost the State of Florida alone billions of dollars."

Note - Rep. Plakon is a frequent attendee of libertarian meetings, such as the Florida Liberty Summit sponsored by Campaign For Liberty.

Blumel commented on the success of the trip:

[Sovereignty and Health Care Act repeal] is the primary message the RLC sought to voice in Tallahassee this year and it was gratifying to hear many of our Republican leaders join in the chorus.

Join today! FLRLC.org

Democrat support in Florida takes a nosedive

Tight Congressional races may now swing to the GOP

From Eric Dondero:

Obama won Florida with 50.9% of the vote in 2008. His popularity in the State has plummeted since.

A new poll by Mason-Dixon (via TampaBay.com) shows ObamaCare's popularity now at 34% with 54% opposed. And more specifically:

Seniors disfavor the bill by a 65-25 percent margin, while independents oppose the law 62-34.

And the news is just as bad for Obama himself:

It shows that Floridians have a more negative than positive view of Obama by a margin of 15 percentage points. And they oppose his so-called "cap-and-trade" global warming legislation as well.

The news is having a great affect on Democrat elected officials in the State. Senator Bill Nelson, considered a relatively centrist Democrat, now stands at 34% popularity. What's more for his race in 2012 he's way behind likely GOP challengers.

Since his 2006 re-election, Nelson's popularity has nose-dived 18 percentage points, the poll shows... The poll shows Nelson would lose to Republicans in theoretical match-ups against former Gov. Jeb Bush, Gov. Charlie Crist and current U.S. Senate opponent Marco Rubio.

Jeb Bush (R) 50%
Bill Nelson (D-inc) 35%

Charlie Crist (R) 47%
Bill Nelson (D-inc) 37%

The pollster Brad Corker commented:

"If Bill Nelson's getting hurt by this, you can imagine what damage there is to other Democrats across the country..."

And yet another poll by Mason-Dixon shows expected Democrat candidate for Senate against either Rubio or Crist, getting clobbered in the general. Rubio would beat Kendrick Meek comfortably44% to 29%. Crist over Meek by an astounding 50% to 26%.

In the aftermath of the 2008 elections, Democrats were giddy at the prospects of turning reliably Republican Red Florida into a leaning Blue State. Those hopes have seemed to diminish, and quite dramatically. All of which could have a huge impact on tight congressional races in 2010, such as Allen West in Broward County against incumbent Democrat Rep. Ron Klein, along with potential GOP challengers to controversial Dem Rep. Alan Grayson in Central Florida, and to blue dogger Rep. Allen Boyd of Tallahassee who voted for the Health Care act.

That's a potential pick up of 3, 4, maybe even 5 Congressional seats for the GOP out of Florida. And heading into 2012, with a Romney, Palin, or even Jeb Bush on the ticket, there's now an increasing certainty that Florida will be solidly in the GOP column.

The uncomfortable truth on Gays in the Military: Heterosexual Servicemen have Privacy Rights too

by Eric Dondero

Finally, a senior officer is speaking up about the fundamental question as to why Gays in the Military is an unworkable idea: Discrimination against straight males and femals in uniform.

From Military.com (via Memeo):

The Marine Corps' top officer said March 25 that even if the ban on openly-serving gays in the services is lifted, he would draw the line at forcing heterosexual Marines to bunk with gays on base.

"We want to continue [two-person rooms], but I would not ask our Marines to live with someone who is homosexual if we can possibly avoid it," Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway told Military.com during an exclusive interview at the Pentagon. "And to me that means we have to build BEQs [bachelor enlisted quarters] and have single rooms."

Conway's comments came the same day that Defense Secretary Robert Gates reprimanded the Army's Pacific commander for publicly exhorting servicemembers and civilians to write to Congress to oppose repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Army Lt. Gen. Benjamin Mixon made his views known in a letter published in Stars and Stripes on March 8.

Conway then gets right to the crux of the matter:

"In this case, I would want to reserve the right of a Marine that thinks he or she wouldn't want to [share a room with a homosexual]. And again that's the overwhelming … number of people that say that they wouldn't like to do so." Conway said the Corps billets two-to-a-room -- unique today among the services -- because it believes it's good for unit cohesion. But if a gay Marine sharing a room with a straight one has the opposite effect, the Corps will adopt the single-room standard of the other services.

Gays in the Military advocates cannot escape the practicality issue of berthing spaces and cohabitation. Simply put, if a gay male has a right to bunk with a straight guy, shouldn't that straight male have the same right to share berthing spaces with a straight female?

Conway is correct in this regard. This is not an issue of exclusion. He even trumps their card. If some reasonable accomadation is found for separate berthing spaces that will eliminate reverse discrimination, he might go along with it.

Conway, quite cleverly, has now put the advocates in an uncomfortable position of defending discrimination and predjudice against straights.

Tea Party photo of the Day: Patriots in the Desert

Report via Tim Daniels, LR contributor and Left Coast Rebel

Reports of over 30,000 strong in Searchlight, NV. Earlier estimates of the expected crowd, ranged from 5,000 to possibly 10,000.

Other reports that 35 Harry Reid supporters lined the highway leading to the Rally and egged the Tea Party Express bus.

Supporters of Senator Harry Reid have just thrown eggs at the Tea Party Express bus caravan -striking at least one of the three buses (the red Tea Party Express bus) with multiple eggs.

Sarah Palin gave a 20 minute address with her now standard line:

"The government governs best, governs least."

Other speakers included Joe the Plumber, Libertarian Republican for US Senate in California Chuck DeVore, and Libertarian 2008 VP candidate and Nevadan Wayne Root.

Russian Bear now fearful of the rising American Bear of Soviet origin

From Cliff Thies:

From "Before it's News," Russian Prime Minister Putin, mindful of the fall of the former Soviet Union, is warning the world against the threat of communism from the United States. Ironicly, the United States, which helped to dismantle the "Iron Curtain," is in the process of building up a new wall around its own country, and taking the first steps to disarm the Americans who might resist a communist takeover. To counter this growing danger, he has ordered a modernization of the Russian military.

Excerpt from Sorcha Faal commentary:

Putin had previously warned the United States against its planned adoption of Communism during his January, 2009 speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland upon Obama taking office, and had stated:In a chilling speech to Russian defence experts yesterday, Prime Minister Putin ordered the buildup of strategic weapons and warned that the growing threat of the expansion of American Communism is endangering the entire World and bringing the Motherland closer to war than at any time since the1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

"The concentration of surplus assets in the hands of the state is a negative aspect of anti-crisis measures in virtually every nation. In the 20th century, the Soviet Union made the state's role absolute. In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated."

Putin in his aforementioned remarks stated that he never would have believed that the United States would take the Iron Curtain surrounding the former Soviet Union they had helped to destroy, pack it up, and the re-erect it around America, but that is exactly what they done. And if any American today wants to know what it was really like living under the tyrannical rule of the Soviet Communists they need only look around them at what their Nation is becoming, and then get very prepared for what is to come

Liberal Media gets it way wrong on Rock thrown at office of Ohio Democrat Rep. Stephen Driehaus

Heluva 'n arm worthy of a Cincinnati Reds star pitcher

The Carew Tower cuts across the Cincinnati skyline. It stands 49 stories high, right on the Ohio river. It also happens to house the main district office of Democrat Congressman Stephen Driehaus.

With his boyish good looks, he's become the poster boy of sorts for the anti-Republican/anti-Tea Party "violence" campaign.

Hurried breaking news reports came out earlier in the week on how a rock was thrown through the Congressman's window. The story originated with the far left Seattle Times, and was carried through the liberal blogosphere and mainstream press.

GOP libertarian blogger Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) first captured the report from the Seattle Times story before the Times and syndicated versions were scrubbed:

"A rock was thrown through the window of Driehaus’ Cincinnati office Sunday."

Driehaus responded to non-incident by pointing the finger at Sarah Palin

Turns out the Congressman's office is not located on the ground floor, but rather on the 30th. Some on-line Right blogger sleuths caught the error.

The media line quickly changed to a local Democrat Party headquarters. But not before the Congressman had the chance to take a few shots at a certain Republican/Tea Party star.

The next day Local 12 WKRC in Cincinnati reported:

A rock was thrown through a window at Hamilton County Democratic Party headquarters, but any other acts of violence have just been talk. Driehaus says the hateful chatter is becoming more and more mainstream. He points to a fundraising website for Sarah Palin that puts targeted seats in congress literally in the cross hairs.

"That kind of constant reference to violence. I don't think it's helpful."

Of course, the Congressman's comments were picked up without reporters/bloggers checking the facts of the original story. And the comments added fuel to the fire of the "Sarah Palin inciting violence" meme.

Local Democrats are admitting that the original story was completely fabricated. Two staffers at the Hamilton County Democrat HQ, one named Molly and the other Caleb Faux, have confirmed to a a local reporter no such incidents occured. Faux quoted from the Examiner.com:

When asked about the Seattle article and the rock being thrown through Driehaus’ Cincinnati office window, he replied, “I think that report is an error. You’d have to have an awfully good pitching arm to throw something that high.”

This is what a Republican campaign for Congress in San Francisco looks like

JOHN DENNIS FOR CONGRESS!

An insider look into the John Dennis, Republican for Congress campaign. Conversation with John. Phone banks. Discussion of fundraising strategies.

John shows a bit of a prankster side during phone banking.

A new WND/Wenzell poll just released has Dennis at 22%. Previous GOP challengers have received 17% and 21% of the vote. Republican registration in the District is 13%. The San Francisco district is viewed as one of the top three most liberal in the country.

Editor's note - We here at LR strongly disagree with John's Ron Paulist foreign policy views. But support him wholeheartedly none-the-less for his 100% libertarian domestic agenda. We urge our readers to send John a contribution (here!)if you can.

Is Ted Nugent untouchable by the Liberal Media?

Former '60s/70s Good time Rock 'n Rollers, all grown up, hesitant to take on The Nuge

From Eric Dondero:

Nugent appeared on Neal Cavuto Thursday, and made some rather hardline comments against ObamaCare.

From Fox News (via Breitbart):

You've had some very astute politicians on Neal. But I am Ted Nugent. Governor of Pigland. So, I'm the expert on the Health Care bill. Cause I kill pigs. And I just shot a monster big pig here in Texas. And seeing how this is a pig bill, created by pig bureacrats to help out American pigs, as I approached this big pig that looked like a beached sperm whale, I was expecting George Castanza to come out of the bushes and extract a titlest number three ball from his blow hole. And as I was about to put a ten millimeter slug through this pig's head, the last thing he said as rrrrhhhhh. Which is pig for where's my health care.

(Pause in the interview)

In November we gotta vote the pigs out of office, because this is a redistribution of wealth, this is the Communist/Mao/Che agenda of the Communist/Mao/Che fans in the White House! They're all pigs Neal!

Even Cavuto seemed alarmed.

I know you're talking kill the pig, I know you're talking humorously and all that... there's a lot of folks on the other side who've read into that a not so coated message for violence.

Nugent responded by fanning his cap sardonically, but reiterating, "I'm a Glenn Beck sort of guy... non-violence."

Still, if Nugent's pal Sarah Palin had used the same sort of language, or a Tom Tancredo, Jim DeMint, or some other Tea Party aligned politician had said the same, they would have been simmered alive in the liberal media. Imagine if Glenn Beck had made such a comment.

A check of the leftwing sites normally on watch, such as Media Matters, DailyKos, TPM, et.al. shows no coverage of the Nugent comments.

Does Terrible Ted get away with it cause of his socially hip, culturally liberal persona? Former long-haired hippie types from the Swingin' '70s afraid to take on one of the greatest Rock legends from their youth?

Rightwing goes Metal, even hardcore Punk

1980s Ninny-Staters give way to Leather Skirts, High Heels and Jeans

by Eric Dondero

It's a long ways from the days of the PMRC. For those youngsters out there the PMRC stands for Parent's Music Resource Center. It was all the rage in the early and middle 1980s. The group pushed for labels on records and cassettes warning parents of explicit lyrics. It was the dawn of the MTV era. And PMRC targetted rock and pop videos most notably Madonna, New Wavers like the pro-gay sex band Frankie Goes to Hollywood (photo below - left), and a myriad of Heavy Metal artists.

Ironically, the leader of the group was none other than Tipper Gore, Al Gore's wife (photo - standing right). But Republicans participated as well, most notably the wife of then Reagan adminstration Sec. of State Jim Baker.

There were even congressional hearings. Republican Senator Paula Hawkins of Florida, remember her?, was one of the most vocal against explicit rock during the hearings. She was joined by Senator Gore himself, and Democrat Sen. Fritz Hollins of South Carolina. On the opposing side Frank Zappa, Dee Snyder of Twisted Sister (photo - right) and even Folkster John Denver testified for free speach.

The group waned in the early 1990s and eventually dissappeared, ironically right in time for Gore's run for Vice-President with Clinton. By the last 1990s, Gore was running for President, and references to his wife's PMRC activities were toned down in the liberal media. Leading up to the 2000 campaign Tipper even famously called herself a "hard rocker," and Albert appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Even more coincidental, PMRC closed up shop just as Rap and Hip-Hop were taking off in popularity. Many speculated at the time that it was perfectly reasonable for PRMC to target White Rockers, but going after Black Hipsters could be seen as "Racist."

And now here we are today. From the Daily Beast:

Sarah Palin delivered a fiery speech for Sen. John McCain's reelection to the U.S. Senate at a rally in Tucson, Arizona. Donning a leather jacket and entering to AC/DC's "For Those About To Rock, We Salute You," Palin exclaimed, "send the maverick back to the United States Senate!"

Hard Rock now American as Apple Pie

Now, we've all been to Republican events where some sappy Pop song like Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" gets blared on the speakers before the candidate's entrance. But for the McCain rally it was AC/DC. No longer is it just upbeat Pop song previously deemed appropriate and "safe: for the GOP. Now we're now talking one of the hardest of hardcore, sex-talking, whiskey and beer drinking bands of all-time. With Palin decked out in a leather jacket, no less.

I've noticed harder rock creeping into the Right more and more, particularly in the last year or so. Glenn Beck now uses bumper music from the Sex Pistols and The Clash. And not "Rockin' the Casbah" either; rather the opening riff of "I fought the law and the law won."

The list of aging Hard Rockers identifying themselves as "Republican," now includes Ted Nugent, Sammy Hagar, members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Alice Cooper, Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Gene Simmons of KISS, Kid Rock, Uncle Cracker, Jeff Hetfield of Metallica, Skunk Baxter of Steely Dan and even Meatloaf.

There's even an Alternative Punk band popular in Arkansas and seen on MTV called A Good Fight, who has a somewhat famous bassist: Republican State Rep. Jon Woods of Springdale. (legislative website). (See MTV video, includes a clear reference to 9/11 "Never Forget" halfway through.)

Sarah Palin was a Teen and later College chic during the height of the 1980s MTV/Punk Rock/Heavy Metal boom. And the Republican Party/Tea Party spokesman's got that heavy metal hotness, on full display today.

We've come a long ways from the PMRC indeed.

Obama "snubs and humiliates" Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on White House visit

Walks out of meeting to go have dinner with the family

From Eric Dondero:

According to various reports, mostly from the foreign press, Obama snubbed Israeli President Bejamin Netanyahu on his two-day trip to Washington earlier this week. Half-way through the meeting Obama got up and announced he was leaving to have dinner with "Michelle and the girls."

At issue, Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem, and unwillingness of the Israelis to make further concessions to the Palestinian Authority as demanded by the White House.

The London Times quotes an un-named Congressman who witnessed the event:

"It was awful,” the congressman said. One Israeli newspaper called the meeting “a hazing in stages”, poisoned by such mistrust that the Israeli delegation eventually left rather than risk being eavesdropped on a White House telephone line. Another said that the Prime Minister had received “the treatment reserved for the President of Equatorial Guinea”.

Left to talk among themselves Mr Netanyahu and his aides retreated to the Roosevelt Room. He spent a further half-hour with Mr Obama and extended his stay for a day of emergency talks to try to restart peace negotiations. However, he left last night with no official statement from either side. He returned to Israel yesterday isolated after what Israeli media have called a White House ambush for which he is largely to blame.

Geller - American Jews can no longer ignore Obama's anti-Semitism

Liberty activist Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs had this response:

Obama shamed and humiliated the Jewish Prime Minister of Israel, while demanding we respect sharia and Islam. Jewish self-defense against virulent, genocidal Islamic anti-Semitism repels the leader of the free world.

Now here we are. Jews may then have tried to avoid Obama’s anti-Semitism, but they cannot now avoid the consequences of avoiding Obama’s anti-Semitism. He has unleashed an evil in this world the extent of which we are only now beginning to see. He has made the world safe for haters and killers.

The Jewish people, both in Israel and the diaspora, seem to be suffering from the Stockholm Syndrome. There can be no logical reason why an American Jew could intellectually excuse Obama’s twenty-year friendship and closeness with the anti-Semitic Farrakhan acolyte Jeremiah Wright.

There is no way an American Jew could explain away or rationalize Obama’s connections to Rashid Khalidi, Ali Abunimah, Bill Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, and know about those connections without knowing what was coming. These Jews (and our history is plagued with them) love ideas, not people. They are so married to their dogma, their ideology, that they cannot, will not, see what is right in front of them. They worship at the church of human secularism. That is their religion. They have no G-d. They merely wearing a Jewish coat, but do not speak for Jews. It is the curse of the Jewish people historically to be betrayed by our own. This is the deepest cut of all.

Are we so broken a people that they shall have died in vain, for nothing? The six million looked like you, laughed like you, denied like you. The six million loved their country -- some were war heroes for Germany in World War I. They too thought the fringe would stay relegated to the margins of society. Fringe, meet White House.

On Thursday Geller had a piece published at Andrew Breitbart's BigJournalism.com titled "Obama's War on Israel."

Obama marching US towards Socialism; Netanyahu moves in free market direction

Since Netanyahu's election nearly 2 years ago, he's taken Israel on a decidedly different course. He is a considered an "ardent advocate" of the libertarian economic view, who has "championed welfare cuts and free-market practices."

From Ashbrook Center bio:

Benjamin Netanyahu became the youngest prime minister in Israeli history. He transferred the Israeli economy towards free market principles and brought recognition to Israel as one of the most sought after high-tech markets in the world. At the same time he drastically reduced the deficit, cut inflation to a 35-year low and brought foreign investment to Israel in unprecedented levels.

Aaron Korman of Israel Newsletter wrote on Netanyahu's practical implementation of free market ideals:

Netanyahu's economic plan... tax cuts and privatization taking a leading role... As the rest of the world is marching towards socialism, Israel appears to be headed in the other direction, embracing free market principals

Further info - "Netanyahu's free market reforms: Hong Kong in the desert" at WorldwideLiberty.

The Left's Big Lie on Jefferson and Texas Board of Education

Obama administration preparing to Nationalize Educational decision-making

Texas Board of Education stalwart member Cynthia Dunbar was a guest on the Bill Bennett in the Morning show on the Salem Network, Wednesday morning. Dunbar explained in detail how charges that the right-majority Board sought to remove Thomas Jefferson from the State curiculum were completely and utterly false. TPM, Daily Kos and other leftwing blogs spread this story last week, which was picked up by major media outlets.

Dunbar detailed how the Board recommended moving the main body of discussion of one of America's "greatest Founding Fathers," from the chapter on the Englightenment to the chapter on the founding of the Republic.

This has prompted some Texas Democrats into calling for the elimination of the elected board. Additionally, liberal Democrats are calling for the decision making process of educational curiculuum to be moved under the auspices of unelected bureacrats.

From a release by the libertarian-leaning Americans For Prosperity (AFP):

AUSTIN – The Texas chapter of Americans for Prosperity denounces the promise of State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-Dist. 20) to abolish the elected Texas State Board of Education.

"State Board of Education members are elected, and last election, while Rep. Hinojosa received 124,456 votes, the average number of votes cast for a single SBOE member was more than twice that – 335,207," said AFP Director Peggy Venable.

"To suggest eliminating an elected body because you don’t agree with their decisions is un-democratic,” said Venable.

Americans for Prosperity’s members are pleased with the SBOE’s decisions regarding the social studies curriculum standards. We are disappointed that Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Bill White and others on the left have grossly misrepresented the board’s actions,” said Venable. “Sen. Hinojosa apparently thinks that if the voter-elected Board makes rulings that don’t fit his liberal agenda, then the Board should be eliminated.

Sen. Hinojosa is attempting to defy our state constitution and deny voters their right to have an elected body represent their interests regarding the public education of our children," Venable said.

The Texas curriculum battle is very important nationally, for other States follow Texas's lead. Dunbar was asked by Bennett what she felt might be the next move by the Left. She responded that the Obama administration may now seek to nationalize the process and standardize curriculum selection as a result of the Texas controversy.