Monthly Archives: January 2009

Vote for Best Bipartisanship Definition!

Posted on January 30, 2009 by | 9 Comments

Twitterers are so much funnier than I am. I asked for a definition of “bipartisanship” – here are the top 20 entries, in no particular order… all in 140 characters or less.

irishspy @pinkelephantpun “bipartisanship” means “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is negotiable.”

tsufish @pinkelephantpun The art of pretending to go along with what your enemy is doing just to get their game plan.

jermtech @pinkelephantpun the GOP sacrificing core principles in order to win imaginary PR points toward their perceived “compassion deficit”

roaring_repub @pinkelephantpun bipartisanship = Democrat Desires – Republican Values

nauran @pinkelephantpun bipartisanship: To appease two parties with hope of agreement when really fingers are crossed and they do it their own way

jtstl @pinkelephantpun Lib’s definition-we make the rules b/c we know what’s best 4 u, BUT the rules don’t apply 2 us, b/c that’s best 4 us.

lynchmj @pinkelephantpun a way to screw the populace in the name of working together

estmr @pinkelephantpun crude def. is R bend over and let the D drive.

JDustinMoody @pinkelephantpun Bipartisanship: when Republicans vote for liberal legislation

Famous59tank @pinkelephantpun bipartisanship: (noun) A great lie, often said but not meant and involving nice, fake faces and annoying slogans

elf1024 @pinkelephantpun “Bipartisanship” if being BiSexual doubles your chance for a date; then BiPartisanship doubles your ability to steal.

FaitAccompli @pinkelephantpun Bipartisanship: Bi = 2 Partisanship = party line. So 2 parties towing their own party line. Washington is Bipartisan.

JaseLP @pinkelephantpun Bipartisanship means taxpayers lose and more liberty is lost

USversusTHEM: @pinkelephantpun “bipartisan” means “lazy man’s politics,” “party above principles,” or “politics of the ignorant electorate.”

scott_welch @pinkelephantpun bipartisanship: noun; a fantasy, a figment of people’s imagination, used for deception, see also huckster, jackleg

JimCim @pinkelephantpun “bipartisanship” – Pretending to think opponents are as smart as you are.

willbutler @pinkelephantpun Bipartisanship = conservatives caving to democrat wishes on a law, and thus neither side gets what they wanted

Leonidas_I @pinkelephantpun Republicans do what the Democrats want.

NYYRC: @pinkelephantpun Dem definition of bipartisanship – Republicans must do whatever they demand or risk the wrath (&deep pockets) of MoveOn.org


APilbeam: @pinkelephantpun unity perceived as progress, but effectually ineffective.

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Posted in Politics, Spirit Lifter

If I Hear The Word "Bipartisan" One More Time…

Posted on January 30, 2009 by | 9 Comments

“Bipartisan” and “reaching across the aisle” are both terms that make me want to send my fist through a wall. Let’s have a chat about my favorite buzzword.

Exhibit A: Obama won. Which means he is now supreme ruler, and his opinion on tax policy (as well as all other matters, I presume) is now law. Or something like that. Oh yeah, and then there’s this:

“If we don’t get this done we (the Democrats) could lose seats and I could lose re-election. But we can’t let people like Rush Limbaugh stall this. That’s how things don’t get done in this town.”

It took him all of what, a week in office to start thinking re-election? Give us a break. Clearly you won, you got you $150 million party, now get to work. You’ve got 300 million supervisors now – you work for US, Obama. Don’t forget it. Anyway, I digress.

There’s nothing bipartisan about stepping into a congressional meeting and rallying Democrats against Rush and talking about re-election. Period. You don’t achieve a “bipartisan” attitude by actively working to eliminate the other party from day one.

Exhibit B: The House vote this week. The GOP finally united – in opposition to the Dems. Well played GOP.

The point of all this? Bipartisanship doesn’t exist. Hear that? It’s a crock. I threw this question out on Twitter today and was amazed by the number of conservatives who felt it was a necessary evil. Necessary for what? IT DOESN’T ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING. And we need to get over the idea that it ever will. The definition of bipartisanship is nothing but this: Republicans being spineless. Period. It is never shown to increase effectiveness or unite anyone.

The only thing it DOES manage to accomplish is conservative guilt. It’s a product of the squishy hopey changey rhetoric we’ve been getting from Washington all year. I have no use for a term that dilutes what I’m trying to achieve. I picture it sort of like a Punnett Square. Conservatism is the recessive trait in our government. When paired with a liberal gene, it stays in the background, where it can be invisible. This is not a good compromise, ya’ll.

This is NOT a necessary evil. And I’m sick of being guilted into watching the GOP play nice with people who have no interest in reciprocating the sentiment. This is the reason we have forgotten what we stand for.

Brodigan gets his second shout out this week with this definition: Bi-Partisanship (n. b?-?pär-t?-z?n-ship) Word media uses to guilt Republicans into bending over to Democrats.

Period.

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Posted in Congress, Democrats, GOP, Politics

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Michele Bachmann Rocks

Posted on January 27, 2009 by | 2 Comments

Okay so I love her. She’s one of the first women that SGP decided to throw their support behind, and I’m so glad there are women like her out there in our government.

First of all, she started The Majority Tracker.  The Majority Tracker is her blog, tracking the 111th Congress. She provides a detailed account of all the inside stuff, letting us know how they’re spending our money. Thanks to Brodigan for bringing this to my attention, because it’s great. Go add it to your blogroll and reader.

Just to add to her awesomeness, she did an interview with us last week, which has been posted on the main SGP site, but I figured I’d re-post some highlights here in case you missed it:

Conservatism is not dead, no matter how much the main stream media, liberal elites, and others may want it to be – it just needs to be reignited. Republicans squandered our opportunity to lead our country for decades to come because we threw conservative policies and principles aside in place of big government programs and spending. Plain and simple, we governed like liberals. Spending skyrocketed, the size of government multiplied, the debt grew, and the conservative ideals Republicans came to power on were left by the wayside.

AMEN.

The partisanship of the White House doesn’t scare me half as much as the partisanship of the Democrat leadership in the Congress. I expect that they will look to seize this opportunity to ram through enormous spending bills, Big Labor agenda items, and liberal social policies.

Just look at the first couple of weeks of the 111th Congress: The Senate pushes through its land grab; both houses push through massive changes to employment law that benefit no one but trial lawyers; the so-called $825 billion stimulus package is rushing into law. This is likely only a preview of the next two years.

So clearly she rocks.  And we need more of her in Congress. You can read the rest of the article here.

She hit the nail on the head in that first comment. We governed like liberals. There was nothing conservative about Bush’s fiscal policies – and that is the image of “conservatives” the country is left with. It was embarrassing, and gave people a very good reason not to like us. We basically became a pro-life version of the Democrats, and we have so much more to offer than that!

Congress is going to be the scariest part of the next 4 years. I have said before that I think Nancy Pelosi is one of the most dangerous people in power right now – and she’s two heartbeats away from the presidency. We need to keep track of everything they do. Tell them how you want them to spend YOUR money.

I’ll make it easy: Here’s Pelosi’s number: (202) 225-4965.

Help minimize the damage of the next couple years, and let’s start doing the legwork to make changes for 2010.  Support people like Michele Bachmann. This starts now.

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Posted in Congress, GOP, Politics

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Senator Winfrey!

Posted on January 26, 2009 by | 2 Comments

I mean, it’s not like she can’t afford it…

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Posted in Corruption, General Controversy, Politics

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Birth Control: The Best Economic Stimulus

Posted on January 26, 2009 by | 13 Comments

Another shining moment for The Wicked Witch of Washington. If you read Drudge you know what I’m talking about. If you don’t here we go:


STEPHANOPOULOS: Hundreds of millions of dollars to expand family planning services. How is that stimulus?

PELOSI: Well, the family planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children's health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those - one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So no apologies for that?

PELOSI: No apologies. No. we have to deal with the consequences of the downturn in our economy.

Seriously Nancy? There is so much wrong with that statement that I don’t even really know where to start.  Did someone not tell you that free birth control has been available for quite a while? Guess what: it doesn’t do any good when people don’t use it.

The solution to your problem is not to prevent people from having babies – it’s to minimize their dependence on the programs that are bankrupting the country. If you plan on bearing the financial burden for every person in the country, then naturally the solution to economic problems is less people to provide for. However, in real life, doesn’t it make a lot more sense to focus on what you can control – which is how much you’re spending on those programs? You’re not going to control how many babies people have unless you want to turn into China.

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Posted in Democrats, Nancy Pelosi, Policy Issues, Politics

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2009 and 2010 Gubernatorial Races.

Posted on January 23, 2009 by | 10 Comments

In the next two years there will be 38 gubernatorial races. Thirty eight, ya’ll. Out of 50. That’s a big deal. Here is a quick run down of those up for re-election, from NPR:

2009 — 2 (2 Dem)

New Jersey: Jon Corzine (D) is likely to seek re-election. The Republican most often talked about is former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, but he has yet to announce his intentions. The GOP field is still being sorted out. Primary: June 2.

Virginia: Tim Kaine (D) is limited to one term. The Republican nominee will be Bob McDonnell, the state attorney general. Three Democrats have expressed interest in running: former state Del. Brian Moran, state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds and ex-Democratic National Committee Chair Terry McAuliffe. The primary is June 9. Click here for more on the race.

2010 — 36 (20 Dem, 16 GOP)

Alabama: Bob Riley (R) is term-limited. Among the Democrats looking at the race is Rep. Artur Davis.

Alaska: Sarah Palin (R) is expected to seek a second term. There have been some reports that Palin might take on GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the primary, but that’s unlikely.

Arizona: Jan Brewer (R), the secretary of state, will become governor when Janet Napolitano (D) resigns to join the Obama Cabinet as secretary of homeland security. Brewer is expected to run in 2010.

Arkansas: Mike Beebe (D) is expected to seek a second term.

California: Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is term-limited. Former Rep. Tom Campbell, eBay exec Meg Whitman and state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner are potential GOP candidates. List of possible Dems includes Mayors Gavin Newsom of San Francisco and Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and Lt. Gov. John Garamendi.

Colorado: Bill Ritter (D) is expected to seek a second term.

Connecticut: Jodi Rell (R) is expected to seek a second full term.

Florida: Charlie Crist (R) is expected to seek a second term.

Georgia: Sonny Perdue (R) is term-limited. GOP field may include Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine.

Hawaii: Linda Lingle (R) is term-limited.

Idaho: Butch Otter (R) is expected to seek a second term.

Illinois: Rod Blagojevich (D) may resign early to become King of Neptune.

Iowa: Chet Culver (D) is expected to seek a second term.

Kansas: Kathleen Sebelius (D) is term-limited. Sen. Sam Brownback (R) is expected to run for governor.

Maine: John Baldacci (D) is term-limited.

Maryland: Martin O’Malley (D) is expected to seek a second term. Bob Ehrlich, unseated by O’Malley in 2002, is the most prominent Republican name mentioned.

Massachusetts: Deval Patrick (D) is expected to seek a second term.

Michigan: Jennifer Granholm (D) is term-limited. Among the Republicans looking at this are state Attorney General Mike Cox, Secretary of State Terri Land and Rep. Peter Hoekstra, who recently announced he won’t seek re-election to the House.

Minnesota: Tim Pawlenty (R) may seek a third term.

Nebraska: Dave Heineman (R) is expected to seek a second full term.

Nevada: Jim Gibbons (R) may seek a second term.

New Hampshire: John Lynch (D) is expected to seek a fourth two-year term.

New Mexico: Diane Denish (D) becomes governor when Bill Richardson (D) resigns to join Obama Cabinet as secretary of commerce. Denish was already planning to run to replace the term-limited Richardson.

New York: David Paterson (D), who became governor after Eliot Spitzer (D) resigned in the wake of a prostitution scandal in March, is expected to seek his first full term.

Ohio: Ted Strickland (D) is expected to seek a second term.

Oklahoma: Brad Henry (D) is term-limited.

Oregon: Ted Kulongoski (D) is term-limited.

Pennsylvania: Ed Rendell (D) is term-limited.

Rhode Island: Donald Carcieri (R) is term-limited.

South Carolina: Mark Sanford (R) is term-limited.

South Dakota: Mike Rounds (R) is term-limited.

Tennessee: Phil Bredesen (D) is term-limited.

Texas: Rick Perry (R), who became governor when George W. Bush won the presidency in 2000, may seek a third full term. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) is expected to run regardless of Perry’s decision.

Vermont: Jim Douglas (R) is expected to seek a fifth two-year term.

Wisconsin: Jim Doyle (D) is expected to seek a third term.

Wyoming:: Dave Freudenthal (D) is term-limited.

Just so you don’t have to do that counting, that’s 22 Dem seats and 16 GOP seats up for reelection. Start doing the work NOW to get the right guy elected.

Michiganders – here’s your chance to get someone in there who can begin to repair some of the damage that Granholm managed to inflict. Hint: It’s definitely not Terri Land.

New Jersey – Don’t put Christie in office please. Stop feeding the RINOs.

Side Note: I really wish people would stop with this “Charlie Crist is the GOP future” thing. He’s not at all what we want in a candidate. Not to mention that his personal would SO not hold up to the scrutiny it’s sure to be under if he runs for national office.

Highlight: Illinois: Rod Blagojevich (D) may resign early to become King of Neptune.

Just go far away, Blago.

Thoughts?

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Posted in GOP, Gubernatorial Stuff, Politics

On The Air…

Posted on January 23, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Doing the Armchair Energist today at 11am EST – be sure to tune in!

Topic: Now what? Call in and chat with me!

Listen here: http://bit.ly/kdwE

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Posted in Politics, Uncategorized

Tagged , ,

Kennedy, Pelosi, and Palin…

Posted on January 22, 2009 by | 8 Comments

Hopefully I will never use those three names together again. However, they all made headlines this morning, so here goes.

Let’s start with the ugly:

“Watching George W. Bush leave the presidency and take off on his helicopter “was like having a 10-ton anvil lifted from my shoulders,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday, describing her emotions and thoughts on Inauguration Day.

So now you have a chance to drop your approval rating even LOWER in the single digits. Awesome. Because 9% isn’t low enough. The rest of the article is exactly what I’d expect from her. New administration butt kissing all around. Here are some of the choice quotes. Caution: not for those with a weak stomach.

Obama “has an entrepreneurial way of thinking, a fresh way of thinking, a commitment to the environment, a push for green jobs and reversing global warming, and that will help California,” she said.

Side note: Can I have some of that global warming please? I haven’t seen this much snow on the ground in NC since 2000. And it’s not melting, either. The back yard this week:

img00171

Back to the article:

She was just a few feet away from Barack Obama when he took the oath of office, and Pelosi said she “thought about his mother, and how she raised him and shaped this extraordinary young man.”

Okay that’s all I can take. On to better things: Kennedy bailing on the Senate bid.

“I informed Gov. Paterson today that for personal reasons I am withdrawing my name from consideration for the United States Senate,” she said.

“Personal reasons”. Right. Like the fact that she’s horribly unqualified and has horrible early polling results? Who cares, really – she’s out.

Last but not least, it’s about time Palin stopped talking about the media and her clothes. Her hopes for the Obama presidency:

Another step on the path to economic recovery is to let Americans keep more of their income. Mr. Obama and Congress could make this happen with permanent tax cuts and by adhering to a path of fiscal discipline. When congressional appropriation trains run too hastily, they accumulate excess baggage, spending more taxpayer money. Leaving more money in American pockets through tax cuts and fiscal discipline stimulates the business-investment and job-creation climate — the climate for economic recovery.

Preach it, girl. It’s about time.

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Posted in Nancy Pelosi, Obama, Politics, Sarah Palin

Post-Inaugural Thoughts

Posted on January 21, 2009 by | 35 Comments

So I managed to avoid most of the inaugural circus yesterday. I picked up on some of it through Twitter, various conversations, and general reading… and managed to catch a couple videos online. I couldn’t even process everything that was going on. There was SO MUCH fanfare. Now don’t get me wrong, a new president is important, regardless of who it is. The pomp and circumstance is part of the deal.  But the important part is what happens at noon. And that was the part they missed! How do you run late for something like this? When the performance trumps the swearing in there’s a problem. And even scarier is that for about 10 minutes, since no POTUS was sworn in, Joe Biden was our president.

From what I can tell, the most disturbing part was the prayer by Reverend Joseph E. Lowery. What. The. Heck. Here was how he closed:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoyyEpHBsmk]

And in the joy of a new beginning we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back/to give back (there were contradictory transcriptions, I certainly hope it’s the first), when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead man, and when white will embrace what is right. Let all those who’ll do justice and love mercy say amen.

Unbelievable. I have spent all morning trying to wrap my brain around this, and I suppose it was his appeal for unity. Or some other PC blather. Sure. Unity by telling white people that they don’t embrace what is right? The human condition is NOT confined to race.  I’m so tired of the right being painted as racists for this very reason. I cannot on any level figure out how this is NOT racist. Who calls people red and brown and yellow anymore? Are we in the 1950′s? It was totally inappropriate.

Side note: “When brown can stick around”… illegal immigration statement? So not the place for that, man.

Division along racial lines is exactly what the left says they are trying to overcome – all they are doing is defeating their own cause by allowing this rhetoric to not only continue, but to dominate yesterday’s proceedings. We saw a campaign defined by race, and now we’re in for an entire term defined by race, which makes me more than a little sad.

Rick Warren did everything I expected him to do. The prayer was generic, all inclusive, and generally as unoffensive as he could possibly be. The Newsweek breakdown of the prayer was as you would expect, but the wrap-up held some surprising validity.

Once again, his phrasing was deft: he invoked Jesus for himself, not for the millions on the mall or the billions watching on television. “I humbly ask this,” he said, “in the name of the one who changed my life…Jesus.” A good job, and yet the lingering question remains. Warren’s conservative theology teaches him that there is one path to God, and that is Jesus. So when he wraps his great big arms around Muslims and Jews (and homosexuals), does he really believe there’s hope for us? Or is he just being nice?

We’re truly in a PC age. You can find the entire text of Warren’s prayer here.

What did ya’ll think?

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Posted in Obama, Politics, Race Relations

Tagged , , ,

SGP Ball Official Invite

Posted on January 19, 2009 by | Leave a comment

 

To use Tweetchat, all you need to do is go to  Tweetchat, and it’ll prompt you for your Twitter ID, password, and then the name of the room you want to enter. The schedule is as follows:

Main Ballroom
9:00 Introduction to #sgpball
9:15 Presentations begin in alternate ballrooms-Host will direct guests
9:20 Discussion by Smart Girl Politics and The New Republicans

#sgp1994 (The Gingrich Room)
9:15 Introduction of Topic: How can groups like SGP and TCOT counter the Democrats online presence and circumvent the mainstream media?
9:20 Discussion by Michael Leahy
9:35 Discussion by Chip Saltsman

#sgp2010 (Take Back Congress)
9:15 Introduction of Topic B: How do women such as those on SGP get more involved in the Republican party and help contribute effectively to a GOP victory in 2010?
9:20 Discussion by Tabitha Hale
9:35 Discussion by Sharon Day

#sgp1980 (The Reagan Room)
9:15 Introduction of Topic C: How can groups like SGP and Rebuildtheparty reach out to the next generation of conservative voters? How do we reach translate internet supporters into real world supporters?
9:20 Discussion by Mindy Finn
9:35 Discussion by Amanda Carpenter

#sgp2012 (Take Back Presidency)
9:15 Introduction of Topic D:How do groups like SGP and #dontgo communicate to their candidates that tech like social media is the future? How can we get more GOP politicians to engage?
9:20 Discussion by Eric Odom
9:35 Discussion by Saul Anuzis

If you have any questions at ALL feel free to ask me, @SGPolitics, or @decidedlyright!! You can ask here, on Twitter, or Facebook - I’ll respond to all messages re:Twitterball. Thanks guys!

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Posted in Politics, Uncategorized