John McCain…

NAFTA-Gate or Smokescreen?

I haven’t BLOGged in a while due to my family battling the FLU and other illnesses, but I wasn’t the only one who caught a bug; Obama fever has engulfed the nation by storm.  Fortunately, as with all campaigns, his honeymoon hot streak is coming to an end, and the media is asking “where does Obama stand on NAFTA”, and “does his relationship with alleged felon, Tony Rezko, undo his self-characterization as a new voice in Washington?”

Right now, you may be asking yourself, “what does NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, have to do with anything?”  Alot.  Many of Ohio Democrats and Independents have blamed NAFTA for their high unemployment rate, that they believe has rendered them bankrupt and/or financialy exhausted.  Obama has taken the opportunity over the last few weeks denouncing the NAFTA agreement to garner campaign supporters, which has concerned Canadian officials whose country has benefited from NAFTA.

Due to this, news reports have surfaced regarding a meeting between Obama’s economic advisors and Canadian officials, where Obama’s camp has allegedly promised that his campaign rhetoric is just that, rhetoric.  Of course, Obama outright denies any sort of conversation, but the candidate was left without a satisfactory answer when a memo surfaced detailing the exchange with Canadian officials; Obama’s advisors and staff claim the memo was inaccurately recorded.

 The other issue with Mr. Obama is his relationship with Chicago businessman Tony Rezko, who has been arrested and is standing trial for extortion, money laundering, and fraud; Mr. Rezko has been helping Obama fundraise in Illinois combined with a previous land deal that could be considered an undocumented campaign contribution, which has resulted in questions around Obama’s campaign for “Change” in Washington.

Only time will tell whether this story is indeed the Clinton dubbed “NAFTA-Gate” or an Obama “smokecreen” fact!

DISGUSTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, this is absolutely disgusting.  How in the world could a judge be put on the bench with this sort of rationale.  The girls best interest is to be protected from 34 YEAR OLD PREDATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Lolita love affair scandalises Italy By Malcolm Moore, Rome Correspondent Last Updated: 2:32am GMT 08/02/2008 A 34-year-old Italian man who had sex with a 13-year-old girl has had his sentence cut by a two-thirds because a court decided there was “real love” between the pair. Antonio de Pascale, a butcher from Vicenza, admitted that he had a four-month long relationship with the girl, who sent him a stream of torrid text messages on his mobile phone. His lawyers argued, however, that there was a “deep tenderness” between him and the girl and that he had “fallen head over heels in love” after a sexual encounter in his car. They said the girl had consented to every action. advertisement The court in Vicenza accepted their opinion and sentenced de Pascale to only one year and four months in jail out of a possible 12-year term. Because of a general amnesty for anyone who receives a sentence of less than three years, de Pascale is unlikely to serve any prison time for his Lolita-esque romance. Antonio Marziale, the president of the Association for the Protection of the Rights of Minors, said the decision was “execrable”. He said: “It is not right to judge whether or not a 13-year-old girl is willing. The law should safeguard young girls who are too immature to make these decisions against adults without scruples.” However, Simonetta Matone, a judge in Rome, said the law must “always look to be reasonable in these cases”. She added: “Every relationship is a relationship and the real maturity, whether physical or psychological, of the minor must be weighed, with the help of experts.” The court decision has unleashed a wave of condemnation in Italy, and even authors of teen novels stepped forward to caution their readers against early sexual encounters. Federico Moccia, the author of Excuse Me But I Love You, said: “This seems a very strange situation to me. Obviously in a relationship between a child and an adult, the adult has to stop himself. A girl has to be able to value the situation, and a girl this young is certainly not capable. My appeal to 13-year-olds is to wait for your time.” Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. For the full copyright statement see Copyright

Economic Stimulus Package: Congressional Conservatives Respond

I thought this was a good press release to be put out onto the blogosphere.  It is the response from the Republican Study Committee; a group of 100 conservatives in Congress joined together to fight for conservative principles. 

 Here is their press release:

RSC Statement on Economic Growth Package

Washington D.C.- Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Chairman of the Republican Study Committee – a group of over 100 Conservative members of the House of Representatives, issued the following statement regarding a potential economic “stimulus” plan: 

 “It is clear that hard working families in America are struggling to make ends meet and that the economy needs a boost.  Conservatives know that it is never a bad time to let families keep more of their own money.  We are, in fact, the ones who have been leading that charge in Congress.  We agree that now is an especially good time for family tax relief given rising energy, food, and tuition costs.   However, temporary consumer tax rebates should not be confused with economic stimulus.   I remain concerned that in the rush to act, an opportunity to put together legislation that will actually grow and stimulate the economy is being missed.   

“The last time our country faced recession, rebates were helpful to consumers but did little to turnaround the economy.  History shows us that the best way to provide an economic turnaround, preserve jobs and spur economic growth is to ensure that job creators face a lower tax and regulatory burden.  Part of our economic slow down is due to the massive tax increases threatened by Democrats and the resulting uncertainty.  Thus, nothing would help our economy more than making permanent the tax relief that is soon to expire.  Congress should also immediately enact laws that reduce the corporate tax rate and capital gains rate while indexing gains attributable for inflation.

   “Though many of the ideas and principles being discussed will not hurt at their inception, Democrat leaders and candidates continue to talk about enacting a massive tax hike to pay for increased government spending.   Raising taxes to fund a temporary package intended to grow the economy is akin to taking a bucket of water from the deep end of a pool and dumping it into the shallow end.   Tax increases would penalize businesses while taking more out of the family budget, further damaging the economy.  In addition, under no circumstances can a stimulus package begin to carry Democrat spending proposals that have thus far languished.  Now is the not the time to induce our entitlement crisis to explode even further.  

“House conservatives believe that economic stimulus legislation should actually include economic stimulus.”

Mike Huckabee: Response to the South Carolina Flag

So I was driving  home today and listening to my Sirius radio, and I heard some guy talking about his offense to Mike Huckabee’s position on the South Carolina flag; I guess they fly the Confederate Flag and reporters were trying to get Presidential candidates to comment. 

Honestly, I think Mike Huckabee took the right position by saying it is a State issue, and something that he is not willing to take a position on or get involved in.  People are being a little ridiculous by twisting his words and making it seem as if Mike Huckabee supports racism. 

 Here’s the video:

Las Vegas Journal-Review Negative on Clinton, Endorses Obama

The Las Vegas Journal-Review endorsed Barack Obama today, and had this to say regarding Hillary Clinton and her campaign:

“She’s a one-term-plus-a-year senator whose lackluster legislative record rivals Sen. Obama’s. Other than that, the ‘experience’ in question must surely refer to her presence as a witness and enabler during her husband’s presidential terms,” and that Nevada Democrats should “ask themselves whether they really want to spend two months later this year watching a re-run of the horror movie ‘It Came From Little Rock,’ with the sound turned up much too loud — or if they’d rather make it a real contest this fall. If they prefer the latter, they’re better off backing Barack Obama on Saturday.”

US NEWS: Romney Wins Michigan, Scrambles GOP Primary

I thought this was a balanced review on Romney’s win in the Michigan Primary and the status of the GOP without a clear frontrunner.

From US News and World Report

January 16, 2008

Campaign News 

US News-Three presidential nominating contests, three different Republican winners. According to CNN, with 100% of precincts reporting, native son Mitt Romney triumphed, taking 39% of the vote, followed by John McCain, 30%; Mike Huckabee, 16%; Ron Paul, 6%; Fred Thompson, 4%; and Rudy Giuliani, 3%. The Detroit News reports, “‘Tonight is a win for optimism over Washington-style pessimism,’ Romney told a cheering crowd at a Southfield hotel where he had awaited the results. McCain, who defeated Romney just a week before in New Hampshire, was campaigning Tuesday night in South Carolina. ‘For a minute there in New Hampshire I thought this campaign might be getting easier,’” McCain said, adding, “But you know what? We’ve gotten pretty good at doing things the hard way too. And I think we’ve shown them, we don’t mind a fight.”
      The economy (Michigan has one of the nation’s worst) appears to have put Romney over the top. The New York Times reports that “just as important as Mr. Romney’s personal ties was that he found himself, after setbacks in Iowa and New Hampshire, in an economically downtrodden state that has shed millions of jobs. The economic woes here played neatly into his strengths as a candidate, and his newly retooled message centered around his private sector experience and a promise to bring change to Washington.” USA Today notes, “Given four choices, half of Michigan’s GOP primary voters surveyed picked the economy as the top issue facing the nation while one in five picked Iraq, one in seven immigration and one in 10 terrorism.” The Wall Street Journal says, “Despite the momentum from” McCain’s “comeback win in New Hampshire, enough voters didn’t come around to his plan to restore the state’s ailing economy, which relied heavily on long-term strategies such as education, job retraining and investment in new technologies.”
      The Michigan outcome is seen as having two major results: keeping Romney’s campaign alive after a pair of disappointing outcomes in Iowa and New Hampshire, and showing that there is no clear GOP frontrunner. The Washington Post reports on its front page, the “surprisingly easy win…vaults Romney back into contention and reaffirms the sharpened campaign message that he debuted several days ago: an attack on Washington and an emphasis on the need for dramatic change in the way politics is practiced.” USA Today reports, “The outcome gives Romney a ‘jolt of caffeine,’ said John Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College near Los Angeles. ‘It’s an opportunity to move on.’” The Wall Street Journal says “many considered Michigan a must-win for” Romney.
      The Washington Times says Romney’s win “further muddles the Republican race” and that none of the three winners “has built lasting momentum.” In a front-page story, the Los Angeles Times describes the GOP primary race as one “in which candidates seemingly win and then lose the leadership spot each week.” Under the headline “No GOP Anchor In Sight,” the New York Times also says Romney’s “convincing victory…means three very different states — with dissimilar electorates driven by distinctive sets of priorities — have embraced three separate candidates in search of someone who can lead the party into a tough election and beyond President Bush.”
      In a very pointed analysis piece, AP’s Ron Fournier calls Romney’s win “a defeat for authenticity in politics.” Romney “pandered to voters, distorted his opponents’ record and continued to show why he’s the most malleable — and least credible — major presidential candidate.” Meanwhile, “the man who spoke hard truths to Michigan lost. Of all the reasons…McCain deserved a better result Tuesday night, his gamble on the economy stands out. The Arizona senator had the temerity to tell voters that a candidate who says traditional auto manufacturing jobs ‘are coming back is either naive or is not talking straight with the people of Michigan and America.’”

 

2008 Elections: Frontrunner Matchups

Gallup took a survey with the current frontrunners to determine who would be the best match-up for a win in the General Election. Right now Huckabee and McCain carry the most delegate votes, along with Clinton and Obama.

Their prediction is would be:

1. McCain wins against Obama or Clinton
2. Clinton wins against Huckabee
3. Obama wins against Huckabee

Mitt Romney: Michigan Victory Speech

Romney pulls it off in Michigan with a “Washingtons broke” message, further indicating that voters are looking for change.

Here is Romney’s victory speech:

Guiliani: Florida Support In Decline

A poll on RealClearPolitics.com today indicates a tye race between Rudy Guliani and John McCain in Florida. The LA Times is reporting rows of Floridians leaving Rudy’s townhall meetings early, and Fox News has a story indicating Christian conservatives leaving the Rudy camp for “Rudy Light”; a term dubbed by a Fox News contributor refering to John McCain as the perfect Guiliani alternative without all of those “liberal calories.”

Once considered a front runner of the GOP, Guiliani has been stumping the issues of terrorism, military build-up, tax cuts, and immigration; all issues heard before from our current President who has extrememly low approval ratings. National Polling seems to back this up showing Guiliani support declining from 37% in March of ‘07 to 14% January of ‘08.

Truth be told, Guiliani has made a large gamble by throwing all of his campaign eggs in the Florida basket, and if the polls are right, his support there is in decline. Strategists have been critical of his campaign tactics from the get go, and don’t believe that Rudy is adapting his message to will of the electorate.

My opinion is that Rudy does not have a wing or a prayer, even if Romney pulls through in Michigan; the perfect storm Guiliani has been hoping for. The reason for this is that the media has been covering Huckabee, McCain, and Romney with such detail that these GOP frontrunners have been able to easily address voter concern.