Archive for January, 2010

The “Scott” heard around the world. The Massachusetts Miracle. Call it what you want, the bottom line is that Brown’s win in Massachusetts is an earth-shattering development in American politics. As prognosticator extraordinaire Stu Rothenberg wrote earlier today, “A Brown win would be the biggest political upset of my adult life.”

Well, there you have it.

Now, I may end up being wrong. On Monday I predicted an eight point win by Brown. At the moment he is up seven, but there are still a lot of ballots to be counted, so it may be even closer than seven. But holy cow! A Republican wins in a state that went for Obama 15 months ago by 26 points!

That thunder you hear is Democrat Congressman running for the tall grass.

More analysis to come…

This story at Politico is stunning. The White House has completely lost touch with reality. The expected loss by Martha Coakley in Massachusetts should make Democrats pause. Instead, the Obama administration intends to plow forward with it’s overreaching agenda. How many times do the voters need to repudiate (NJ, VA, MA) the big-government agenda before they get the message? They wait until November 2010 at their own peril.

“I’ve been called a lot of things… but never, I mean never, could anyone make the mistake of calling me a Yankee fan. Well, check that, if you didn’t know what the hell is going on in your own state maybe you could.” – Curt Schilling

Congressman Shadegg Announces He Will Not Seek Re-election

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman John Shadegg (AZ-03) issued the following statement regarding his plans to represent Arizona’s Third Congressional District beyond 2010:

“I am today announcing that, while I will serve out my current term in the U.S. House of Representatives, I will not be a candidate for re-election to Congress.  Representing the people of Arizona in the House has been one of the greatest privileges of my life.  And, while it would be difficult to leave this position at any time, it is particularly hard to do so now with the challenges we face as a nation, but it is necessary for me to do so.

“While representing the people of Arizona in the House was one of my goals in life, it is not the only one.  After 16 years it is time for me to take my life in a new direction and to pursue my commitment to fight for freedom in a different venue.

“In doing so, I particularly want to thank the people who have supported and voted for me throughout the years.  I couldn’t have won this seat or engaged in this fight without their steadfast friendship and support.  I will remain forever in their debt.  I also especially want to thank my wife, Shirley, and my children, Courtney and Stephen, for their sacrifice, patience, and encouragement.  They have been there through the highs and lows, and I sincerely appreciate all they have done to make my career in Congress possible.

“I also want to thank the men and women that I have been blessed to have on my staff, working alongside me as we fought the good fight.  My staff is Shirley’s and my extended family, and their creativity, wit, and hard work stands unparalleled.  Most importantly, together we share a passion for freedom.

“Two years ago I considered retiring and briefly announced my intention to do so.  I was talked out of that decision by my constituents and colleagues.  For those who encouraged me to run then and particularly those who stepped up and helped financially in that race, I want to reiterate my sincere appreciation.  2008 was a disastrous year for Republicans.  Yet, with their help we proved that this is a solidly Republican seat, defeating my Democrat challenger by double digits notwithstanding the millions of dollars poured into this race by National Democrats.  This time, however, my decision is irreversible.

“As the Obama Administration and Speaker Pelosi grow further and further out of touch with average Americans, evidence continues to build that 2010 will be a record year for Republicans running for Congress.  And, I am extremely confident that the people of the Third District of Arizona will elect a solid conservative.

“In the last year, I have been able to fight the massive government takeover of our nation’s health care system advanced by President Obama and Speaker Pelosi.   I will continue to do so with every ounce of energy I can summon.  This takeover is deeply flawed and overwhelmingly opposed by my constituents.

“I have worked on health care reform my entire Congressional career.   One of my proudest moments came when my legislation to encourage states to cover those with pre-existing conditions was passed by Congress and signed into law.

“I have introduced legislation every year since 1996 to give Americans greater choice in selecting their health care and greater control over their health care decisions. Time and again, I have proposed innovative ideas. Early on, I introduced legislation giving individuals the ability to purchase coverage on the same tax-favored basis businesses now enjoy.   I was the first to propose allowing individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines, an idea that continues to gain momentum.  These are real reforms that would force America’s health insurance companies to compete with each other for our business, and drive costs down and quality up.

“I have repeatedly introduced legislation that would give every American, rich and poor, health coverage and cover those with pre-existing conditions while preserving choice, creating real competition, and cost savings.

“The biggest problems in health care in America today are the result of misguided government policies.  It is the government that puts your employer and the health plan your employer selected between you and your doctors.  It is the government that allows employers to buy health care coverage tax-free but makes individuals use after-tax dollars to buy coverage.  And, it is the government, including a specific provision in the current House and Senate bills that gives health insurance companies immunity from damages if their decision injures or kills someone.  Yet, National Democrats are about to bail out the health insurance industry, compel every American to buy their product whether we want to or not, dramatically expanding the roll of government in health care.  This is a tragic mistake which we will come to regret.

“To this day, I get goose bumps when I walk back to my office in the Cannon Building after a late night vote and look up at the Capitol Dome shining through the darkness.  I will deeply miss doing so.  Our Nation’s Capitol is the greatest symbol of freedom in the world.  And, I will be forever indebted to the people of Arizona who bestowed on me the privilege of representing them in the fight for freedom.

“While the rules of the House do not allow me to pursue future employment while I am still in office, rest assured, I will continue to remain in the fight for freedom and defend American exceptionalism.”

-#-

The race to fill the Senate seat of Edward Kennedy in Massachusetts is turning into the most closely watched election of the season. In what can only be described as unbelievable, the Republican candidate, Scott Brown, is in a dead heat with the Democrat candidate, Martha Coakley.

For a Republican to even be in the game in a state like Massachusetts is incredible. This is a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 5-1.

It has gotten so dire for Democrats, that there has been talk about delaying the certification of the election if Brown wins. Just for those keeping track, the last time there was a special election in Massachusetts for an open House seat, the winner was sworn in two days later.

In reaction to a question about a delayed certification, the esteemed Representative Barney Frank said it was a “conspiracy theory.”

“There isn’t the slightest possibility of it happening—a way of doing it.”

Well Mr. Frank, we’ll remember that on February 20 if Brown ends up winning.

Even if the Democrat wins, this race does not portend a good year for Democrats nationally.

It doesn’t matter where disaster strikes, it is always devastating. Particularly in a poor country like Haiti.

I have an indirect connection to Haiti. My aunt and uncle spent more than a year there on a service mission helping the poor and infirm, delivering wheelchairs and hope to a country that doesn’t have much hope.

They were deeply touched by their experience there and I’m sure my aunt, who has since passed on, is looking down and trying to offer comfort to those who are suffering. I know my uncle is pained by the images of destruction.

Pray for the people of Haiti.

This is powerful, and should make Democrats very nervous.

This editorial in the Wall Street Journal is too good to not post in full. Dead on.

The 60th Senate Vote

The special election in Massachusetts and the Democratic agenda.

When Ted Kennedy died last August, Democrats said they’d honor him by finally passing the national health care he had long campaigned for. What an irony it would be if the race for Kennedy’s successor in Massachusetts denied Democrats the 60th vote to ram their federal takeover into law on a partisan basis.

That prospect isn’t as implausible as it once seemed in that most liberal of states, as Republican Scott Brown has closed to within striking distance of Democrat Martha Coakley in the January 19 special election. A Boston Globe survey released this weekend showed Ms. Coakley with a 15-point lead, but a survey by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling found the race a dead heat, with Mr. Brown up 48% to 47%. The scary prospect for Democrats is that the race is even this close on their home ideological turf, and turnout is always difficult to predict in special elections.

That’s especially true in midwinter and with a voting public that is increasingly opposed to the Democratic agenda in Washington. The Public Policy Poll found that likely Bay State voters oppose the Democratic health plans by 47% to 41% and that they give President Obama only 44% job approval. This in a state he carried by 26 points only 14 months ago. It also found Republicans much more motivated to vote than Democrats.

Mr. Brown, a state senator who is little known state-wide, has been running against Washington’s blowout spending and has called for a freeze on the wages of federal employees. “It’s not right that less-paid private sector workers suffering through a recession have to pay for expensive government salaries,” he says, noting Ms. Coakley’s many union endorsements.

He’s also hit on taxes, including Ms. Coakley’s comments in November that “We need to get taxes up.” One of his TV ads shows film of Massachusetts son John F. Kennedy describing his 1962 tax cut bill, saying that “The billions of dollars this bill will place in the hands of the consumer and our businessmen will have both immediate and permanent benefits to our economy.” It’s been a long time since any national Democrat said anything like that.

Regarding ObamaCare, Mr. Brown notes that 98% of the state is already insured so any national bill will hurt Bay Staters. He’s right, with the sweetheart Medicaid deal that Ben Nelson cut for Nebraska being Exhibit A. But more fundamentally, the Democratic bills would impose federally mandated rules and benefit limits that would strip states of regulatory flexibility.

Ms. Coakley is the state attorney general and ran to the left of other Democrats to win the Senate primary. She would be a reliable liberal vote for Majority Leader Harry Reid on every issue. These columns have a particular interest in Ms. Coakley’s judgment from her days as district attorney for Middlesex County when she inherited the child molestation case against Gerald Amirault long after it had been shown to be fictional.

When the Governor’s Advisory Board on Pardons and Paroles voted unanimously to commute Amirault’s sentence in 2001, Ms. Coakley went to great lengths to see that he remain in prison. The same woman who organized protest meetings to ensure that Amirault stay behind bars now argues that would-be underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab and other jihadists should not be held as enemy combatants. She is more zealous for politically correct causes than for national security.

The Democrat remains the favorite in such a liberal state, especially now that the unions and national Democrats have become alarmed by the polls. Bill Clinton will campaign for Ms. Coakley this week, and Mr. Brown can expect an assault linking him to George W. Bush, if not Herbert Hoover. But a sign of their worry is that Democrats are whispering that even if Mr. Brown wins, they’ll delay his swearing in long enough to let appointed Senator Paul Kirk vote for ObamaCare.

The mere fact that Democrats have to fight so hard to save Ted Kennedy’s seat shows how badly they have misjudged America by governing so far to the left.

I went into a Subway in D.C. tonight and bought my regular, six-inch double meat turkey on honey oat with lettuce, tomato, olives, cucumbers, pepperchinis (called banana peppers back East) vinegar, salt and pepper.

They rang up the order and then added $0.05. I asked what the extra nickel was about and the Subway worker said that D.C. had passed a “bag tax” on retailers and take-out orders. Apparently, D.C. passed a tax on plastic bags to save the Anacostia River.

Read all about it here. Let a river run through it.