Category Archives: Democrats

Democrats and Suffragettes

Posted on August 17, 2010 by | 8 Comments

I received an email from the Jen O’Malley Dillon, Executive Director of the DNC today. I’ll spare you the absurd text of the entire email, but here are some excerpts:

For the first 144 years of this country’s existence, women were not guaranteed the right to vote — and winning that right did not come easily.

Women’s suffrage took a movement. It took organizers who worked tirelessly and allies who fought for the cause in the halls of power. On August 18th, 1920, when the legislature of the state of Tennessee voted to ratify the 19th Amendment and affirm its place in the Constitution, it passed by a single vote.

But the fight for full equality is not finished. In 2008, a woman in the United States earned only 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. For women of color, the disparity is even greater.

We have a choice with this election about whether we want to continue the fight to bring down barriers — whether we want to move forward or backward. We’ll decide whether we want to honor the legacy of those who couldn’t vote but reached for that right. But all those decisions begin with the promise that you will participate in the fall elections.

That’s right, everyone. Just vote Democrat. Everyone will be equal! We’ll all sit around and praise Dear Leader and ride our unicorns beneath the double rainbows. All it takes is your vote for a Democrat.

The reality is this: Democrats have absolutely no authority to claim that they have a woman’s best interest at heart. For example, Obama talked a big game on closing the wage gap. Except… he refused to pay women the same as he paid men in his Senate office. From NRO almost 2 years ago (source):

Obama’s commitment to federally mandated pay equity stretches from the Rockies to Wall Street and beyond. And yet it seems to have eluded his United States Senate office. Compensation figures for his legislative staff reveal that Obama pays women just 83 cents for every dollar his men make. Continue reading →

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Posted in Abortion, Democrats, Republicans, Women

54% of "political class" think federal government should have unlimited power

Posted on August 6, 2010 by | 6 Comments

Let’s ignore for a minute the 9% of people who have no problem with full government control, according to this Rasmussen poll. That number is disturbing in and of itself. Let’s look at this part:

By a 54% to 43% margin, the Political Class believes the federal government should be allowed to do most anything. Mainstream voters reject that view by a 94% to three percent (3%) margin.

Seem outrageous? It absolutely is. But when you think about it, it’s not hard to believe. Remember when Pete Stark came out and said it last week? When they passed bills on a “trust us, this won’t hurt a bit” promise? Clearly, they know what’s best. They are the ruling class and should be in charge. Nevermind us mere mortals that, you know, pay their salaries and actually function in and drive the economy that they are currently destroying.

A fundamental belief of the Left is that the government can fix anything that is broken in society, whether it be racial injustice, health care problems, failing banking systems, or evil little children that don’t pay for licensing when they set up their lemonade stands. There is this idea of a state-sponsored utopia in Washington that compels them to meddle and “fix” everything they can get their hands on. The private sector is just too stupid to be left to their own devices. Black people and women need “national leaders” and caucuses because we’re all just too stupid to “lead” ourselves. Small business owners clearly don’t know what is best for their businesses, parents aren’t trusted to know what’s right for their children, and when a CEO is failing, a President with zero private sector experience is to destroy him and buy the floundering company.

After all, which such a brilliant cast of characters in Washington right now, why wouldn’t we trust them to make all of our decisions for us? Continue reading →

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Posted in Congress, Democrats

Are Democrats losing their hold over women?

Posted on March 29, 2010 by | 7 Comments

Politico had a great article today on women in the Tea Party movement.

It’s clear that woman have been a driving force in this movement, probably more than ever before on the Right. It can be attributed to a lot of things, not the least of which is, as Darla DeWald said in the Politico piece, is the “mama bear” instinct that kicks in when women feel that their children are at risk. Now that it’s clear that the issues at hand are going to effect every child in this country, the maternal instincts are kicking in. Mothers will fight for their children.

This potentially points to a greater problems for Democrats in upcoming months. Women have largely swung toward the Democratic party for ages. The reasons have been hashed out over and over, but here are some quick bullet points:

  • Women as a whole make less money. Therefore, they are generally in a tougher spot when they are single/divorced. Democratic platforms are all about a safety net for when one is vulnerable.
  • Abortion. The idea of it being outlawed is a sticking point for many women, who feel threatened at the idea of losing that option. In addition, a majority of the modern feminist movement bases their entire existence on trying to fight those evil Republicans that are trying to “police their wombs”. Or something. Which is funny when you consider the health care legislation they were so excited about getting rammed through.
  • The Democratic party has worked to paint themselves as the champions of the downtrodden. Poor people, minorities, and women have long been beholden to the false sense of security that the Democratic party strives to provide. See: first pullet point.

So what’s changing now? The fact that, despite claiming to provide a safety net, Democrats are losing popularity. They have passed legislation that the Left has been fighting to pass for 50 years. They have control of the House, Senate, and White House. They should be riding high… but they’re not. And this is in no small part because of the women that are becoming a loud, fierce voice in this battle.

Nancy Pelosi, as the highest ranking female elected official in the country, has tried to spin nearly every issue as a women’s issue. She did it with climate change. She did it with health care. And let’s face it, in the past, this has been a winner for the Democrats. The ladies, however, aren’t buying it.

Maybe it’s because some of those women who have been chanting “hands off my body” for 40 years finally realized that government involvement means that they’re involved when it’s inconvenient too. Maybe women on the left are realizing that they are more than their uterus, and that there is more to “women’s rights” than abortion. Maybe it’s because those same women want freedom for their daughters. Who knows. The bottom line is that some of the biggest political players on the Right in the past year have been women, and that is likely to continue. Some of the most passionate, effective activists and minds springing up out of this movement have been women. Smart Girl Politics has been on the forefront of the conservative women’s movement, and has provided a unique outlet for women to connect, learn, and mobilize locally. The beauty of all this? Women are drawn to other women in leadership, and the effect has been a groundswell of new female voters, candidates, and activists on the Right.

Nancy Pelosi’s thinly veiled attempt to make this health care legislation a win for women’s rights was laughable. Just a reminder from RedState’s Lori Ziganto of how this bill actually effects women:

Because a quick search of the product classification database shows just how much women, and particularly Moms, will be punitively taxed. Tampons will be taxed; we are hereby punished not just by our monthly visitor, but because of it. Breast pumps will be taxed.  Those of us who are “punished by a baby”,  will now truly be punished monetarily by Congress for choosing (so much for choice!) to breast feed our children. What happened to wanting women to have it all? You are punishing women who work and need to pump to provide the best possible sustenance to their infants. It’s organic; I thought y’all liked that? Or is that just another thing to which you merely pay lip service for political expediency and “cool” points?

Birth control will now be more expensive as well, including diaphragms and condoms. Condoms, hmm, what shall we call that one? The roll-down tax? I suppose they figure who cares if people can’t afford condoms. Who needs personal responsibility? Pesky pregnancies won’t be a problem; abortions will be fully funded! That’s feminism for you. You’ve come a long way, baby! They should probably change that phrase, since they don’t seem to care much for actual babies.

So… what was this about Republicans punishing you for having girly plumbing? We’re not buying it anymore, Nancy. The bottom line is that unless the Dems find a way to stop the bleeding they’re going to pay for it in November. In fact, I’m banking on that very thing.

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Posted in Abortion, Democrats, Nancy Pelosi

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In defense of Dan Riehl…

Posted on March 13, 2010 by | 12 Comments

Here’s the deal. Dan wrote a post about Harry Ried that has lefty panties in a wad. What did he say?

I’m not sure I quite understand this, given that cost is so important as a burden to taxpayers when it comes to health care. If Democrats want so badly to abort babies because of it, why are we bothering with someone who has a broken neck and back at 69? It sounds to me like she’s pretty well used up and has probably been living off the taxpayers for plenty of years to begin with. Aren’t we at least going to get a vote on it?

I realize her crook of a husband and his pals in Congress have excluded themselves from the mess they’re going to compel everyone else to join, but we’re still paying the bills, are we not? I don’t see that she’s worth it at this point, frankly. I can’t recall her ever doing anything for me.
Come on, Harry – do your civic duty. The nation’s broke and counting on you guy. Pull the plug and get back to work. And don’t bill us for a full day today, either. This is no time to be sloughing off. Air freight her home, you can bury her during recess on your own time and dime. Or are you going to bill us for that, too?

Clearly, this is satire. Dan’s a snarky bastard, and he is ruthless about the truth – both qualities I sincerely appreciate. The language of the post is meant to draw attention to the hypocrisy of the left, and highlight the callousness of Democratic leadership in light of Stupak’s statements. The attitude that life is an obstacle for their proposed health care program is nauseating at best, and rightly pissed a lot of people off this week.

The thing is, this isn’t a new attitude. This has been Democratic attitude for a long time – it’s become life vs. their health care takeover. Pregnancies and new people are an inconvenience when you’ve decided it’s your duty to control all of them. Remember last year when Pelosi said that birth control was the best economic 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.

Dan pointed out the hypocrisy of their stance, and the nasty motivation behind it… so effectively that he’s being torched by anyone and everyone. Apparently the “vile” nature of the post hit home for some…

Well done, Dan.

UPDATE: Linked by The Other McCain. Thanks!

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Posted in Abortion, Democrats

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Transparency is just not their thing

Posted on January 13, 2010 by | 1 Comment

No matter which side you are on, it’s pretty easy to see that the White House’s message of transparency has been, somewhat, well, hard to decipher. Matt Kibbe wrote about a few of the back door deals and the behind the scenes nature of the health care debate.

Despite the transparency rhetoric, promises of an open conversation and a ban on lobbyists in the White House, there have been murky-at-best explanations for documented White House visitors. President Obama pledged not to work with lobbyists. So, naturally, lobbyists just delist, and voila! No more lobbyists in the White House. Which unfortunately, doesn’t make them any less of a lobbyist… just a lot more illegal.

Lobbyists are nothing new. The issue is that for a campaign that ran so vehemently on not working with lobbyists and special interests, they seem to be more than happy to blur the lines when it benefits their cause. But what makes a lobbyist a lobbyist?

The Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) defines a lobbyist as a person who spends more than 20% of their time on “lobbying activities” and has had more then one “lobbying contact”. Pretty simple. What constitutes a “lobbying activity”? Time spent on lobbying contacts, as well as any planning, prep time, research, coordination, and dirt digging. A “lobbying contact” is any communication, oral or written, with federal officials regarding policy modification, formulation and adoption. That goes for legislation, government officials, government contracts, and nominations subject to Senate consent.

Andy Stern, a known lobbyist who delisted in 2007, has taken his share of heat. He appeared on the White House visitor log 22 times last year for meetings with President Obama, Joe Biden, Rahm Emanuel, and Peter Orzag. News articles also report meetings with House members and Senators.

Apparently not the brightest bulb, Stern also reported his meetings on Twitter. The Alliance for Worker Freedom and Americans for Tax Reform collected tweets from February to June that mention White House meetings, visits with Congressmen, and lobbying with Mayor Bloomberg.

Here is a clip from an interview with Stern:

“I don’t care if I went there once, or if I went there every single day, they would say it’s too much. That’s because they have a different vision of America than the people I work with every day.”

The assumed access to the White House is an incredible display of arrogance.  They never thought they would be denied access. This is what happens when everything is negotiable and promises mean nothing. Washington is doing what it wants, and the less we know the better.

Transparency redefined: We’ll actually show you nothing, and then say that the reason nothing is working is because of the Republicans. Those Republicans and their silly “Constitution” and “procedures”. That is all that stands between you and utopia, people.

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Posted in Corruption, Democrats, Obama

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KSM, cowardly conservatives, and Obama the Punisher

Posted on November 18, 2009 by | 3 Comments

The Khalid Shaikh Mohammed backlash has been quite the spectacle. From Holder’s hearing today to Obama predetermining the outcome, this has been really unbelievable. Pulling the trial out military tribunes and moving to civilian courts is a fundamental change in how we deal with criminals. The options, as I see it, are this:

1. They don’t believe we are at war.

2. They don’t care we are at war, politics are more important.

Rudy Guiliani pointed out this morning on a conference call that those that bombed Pearl Harbor would never have been tried in civilian courts. Have we really shifted our views so much that we’re willing to make these changes? Apparently.

Even more distressing is the weird contrast from our President on the issue. From Ace of Spades:

“I don’t think it will be offensive at all when he’s convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him,” Obama told NBC’s Chuck Todd.

When Todd asked Obama if he was interfering in the trial process by declaring that Mohammed will be executed, Obama, a former constitutional law professor, insisted that he wasn’t trying to dictate the result.

Not that I have a problem with him being convicted. I mean, the man committed a heinous crime, and changed our world forever. He confessed. But predetermining the outcome is so very, well, not American. Does he not think that his public assumption that KSM will receive the death penalty will have any impact on the outcome of the proceedings? Because if that’s the case, he’s so very wrong.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Lefties have decided that we’re “cowards”. Sister Toldjah nails it:

Let’s see. You’ve got one side desiring to protect sensitive intelligence information from the eyes of Islamofascist thugs who want to kill Americans abroad – including our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan – and both military officers and civilians here at home, a side hungry for justice to be carried out against admitted terrorist brutes like KSM, and you’ve got some on another side that is operating under the shameless pretense of “wanting justice” for 9-11 victims but who in realilty apparently have no problem with the possibility that sensitive national security information will be revealed in the process – and in fact wishes for such information to be revealed in order to put the evil Bush admin on trial, a side where not many are particularly interested in justice for the 9-11 victims but are apparently more interested in being pro-”justice” against their political opposition – a position that presents a clear danger to both Americans and their interests both at home and stateside. This isn’t about “justice” for the left – it’s about “revenge.” Interesting, when you think about it, because they’ve been telling us for years that the courtroom is not supposed to be about “revenge” but about “fairness and justice under the law.” Um, just who are the “cowards” again?

Preach it , Sister.

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Posted in Democrats, Islam, Obama

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Did anyone actually think recovery.gov would be accurate?

Posted on November 18, 2009 by | 1 Comment

Really, who thought their goal was to actually hold the government accountable? It was a sham from the get go.

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: The chairman of the Obama administration’s Recovery Board is telling lawmakers that he can’t certify jobs data posted at the Recovery.gov Web site — and doesn’t have access to a “master list” of stimulus recipients that have neglected to report data.

You don’t have a list of those who haven’t reported? That’s because they never bothered setting up a real committee to monitor where the money went. Gee, who saw that one coming?

I wish I could be shocked and astounded that they haven’t done their jobs. I wish it was totally baffling that they would make up districts that don’t exist to account for stimulus money… but anyone who was paying attention to the way this stimulus atrocity was structured could see it coming back in February. There were no controls. There was no oversight. The absurdly patronizing Recovery.gov site was never intended to be an accountability tool – it’s there to make the American public feel better about their support for the disaster their President pushed through.

This is predictable, but no less embarrassing. Yay for government efficiency!

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Posted in Congress, Corruption, Democrats, Stimulus

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Unloading after this weekend

Posted on November 10, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Yes, you all know that the monstrosity of a health care bill made it through the house late Saturday night. It was bi-partisan… in that ONE Republican – Anh Joseph Cao – decided to become a One Term Representative by voting for it.

Meanwhile, 39 Democrats voted AGAINST it, bringing the final vote to 220 – 215. Aren’t you glad a full 1/6 of our economy passed with such a decisive victory? I know that’s at least a comfort. The true bi-partisanship was in the opposition.

In my opinion, the Stupak Amendment put it over the top. It was the amendment that placed limitations on abortions. Which sounds like a good thing, right? In this case it so wasn’t. All it did was give the fence-sitters cover. They could vote for it with a clean conscience, and a lot of them did. Obviously. Joke’s on them though, because the amendment will probably be done away with in committee.

Well done, GOP.

I’m not going to lie, the defeat stung. We busted our tails – all of us. I was amazed at how many people turned. And a vote that close renders it that much harder to force through in the Senate. I hate to say it’ll never go through, because honestly, things stopped surprising me a long time ago. They forced this victory. They postponed until enough votes could be hustled… and make no mistake, that’s how all the last minute votes were pulled together. If it were a slam dunk they would certainly not have postponed the vote, brought Obama in for a pep rally, or anything of the sort.

One thing I can say is that it was the first thing to bring Republicans together in a long time. Who knew that many had a back bone? I won’t give them too much credit – they’re realizing how much power we have. A lot of it is a political move. But regardless, they’ve decided to listen. Too bad the Democrats don’t care.

After Thursday, I was totally wiped out, but Rep. King called for another rally at the Capitol on Saturday. A ton of GOP Representatives were there, and there was a great crowd for less than a day’s notice. Here are some of the photos:

Two of my favorite women. Clearly a serious moment.

Two of my favorite women. Clearly a serious moment.

Pretty shot of Michele Bachmann

Pretty shot of Michele Bachmann

They unraveled the bill - pages stuck end to end - and it ran along the entire lawn all the way up the stairs into the building.

They unraveled the bill - pages stuck end to end - and it ran along the entire lawn all the way up the stairs into the building.

Three copies of the monstrosity.

Three copies of the monstrosity.

Rep. Shaddegg got riled up and chucked it from the podium. I had my Flip. :)

Tabitha and Michele Bachmann

Tabitha and Michele Bachmann

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Posted in Democrats, GOP, Politics, Tea Parties

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Michele Bachmann's House Call. And My Job Shouldn't Exist.

Posted on November 5, 2009 by | 4 Comments

I have some seriously mixed emotions right now. Today was amazing. I was blown away by the shift in the GOP Representatives. There were so many who were FINALLY getting it. It was like they realized we weren’t going away, and they’d better get on board. It’s about time. I have been busting my tail all week to help anyone I could help with logistics. This was an odd event in that no one was really in charge. Rep. Bachmann (who I have openly admitted to having a girl crush on) announced it, a few talk show hosts and Fox News supported it, and we came. Oh, we came.

Wide_Crowd_Shot

Amazingly, most people were on message today. Which is always impressive, because a lot of the time people choose their pet issues and make a sign about it. And then I’m like, um. This is about taxes, why are we talking about marriage again? Anyway, with the exception of the total whackjobs that were dressed as demons torturing Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid in the fires of hell, I was pretty impressed with the focus.

The crowd estimates ranged from 20k to 30k – which was amazing considering there was a five day notice. I spent the first part of the day elated. I was so thrilled that so many people saw the importance of just showing up. But I’ve been thinking about my job lately, and about what people give to be at these things – it’s not cheap, and no, we’re not paying anyone’s way. No one forced these people on to the streets or to wait in line for hours to meet their representatives.

Cannon_Building

My job, in short, should not exist. At all. There should not be organizations that do nothing but babysit the government. We shouldn’t even have to say things like “Spending a trillion dollars is a bad idea”… you’d think that would be common sense. Obviously that is not the case. I’ve heard so many stories of people who have drained savings accounts, taken off work, run up credit cards… anything they could do to get here. And it really makes me sad that we’re at the point where people HAVE to do that. Why should we have to bring thousands and thousands of people to their doorstep and figuratively bang down their doors to get them to listen? It’s a sad state of affairs.

I hate that I have to do what I do. To be completely honest, I would not have chosen to live in Washington at all. This city has never been on my radar. I’d be completely content back home in NC with my friends and family. But I have to be here. And so do so many others. And it sucks.

Days like today give me hope. This is honestly the first time that I’ve ever really felt like they were listening. The GOP representatives couldn’t jump on board fast enough. So many spoke to us and supported what we were doing.

A powerful moment for me was when I went with a New Jersey constituent to meet with his representative – a squishy Republican named Leonard Lance. He voted for TARP. He voted for Cap and Trade. He seemed shaky and almost scared when we entered his office. Everyone there could not have been nicer. He was happy to let us all come in, even though we weren’t in his district. He looked at us and said “Your voices are being heard. I’m going to vote no.” I was blown away.

app3178671257448151

All in all, what we’re doing is working. I have no doubt in my mind that the Representatives have heard us, and they’re afraid to ignore us anymore. This is not about this bill or that bill or any particular Representative or Senator. It’s not about Obama. It’s not about Nancy Pelosi. As much as she makes my skin crawl.

It’s about freedom. It’s about liberty. It’s about people who want their kids to be free. That’s why we show up.

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Posted in conservatives, Democrats, Politics

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Letters to Sebeilius: Drop the gag order.

Posted on September 25, 2009 by | 2 Comments

Who knew they still had a spine?

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) — Senate Republicans vowed to block President Barack Obama’s nominee for surgeon general and other health officials unless the government drops what they said is a “gag order” barring insurers from lobbying their Medicare policyholders on the health-insurance overhaul.

The move by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and seven other Republicans would delay confirmation of almost a dozen nominees for Health and Human Services positions, including Dr. Regina Benjamin to become surgeon general.

“Until your department rescinds its gag order and allows seniors to receive information about matters before Congress, we will not consent” to move forward with the confirmations, the eight Republicans said in a letter today to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

How’s that whole transparency thing working out, huh? I’m actually kind of shocked that they called it what it is – a gag order. What else can you really call legally silencing a private company?

Humana has every right in the world to disseminate information to their insured. In fact, they have an OBLIGATION to do so! There are Clintonian rules still in place that allow insurers keep their insured informed about legislative changes.

But why on earth would the one calling for dialogue and action work so hard to shut down opposing voices? Easy: the facts are inconvenient. The “solution” driven left seems to ignore the fact that there are ethics involved. That maybe companies have a reponsibility to let the people that rely on them for their health care know that their coverage may be affected.

“Republicans jeopardize their own credibility when they choose to defend big insurance companies trying to make false claims about senior citizens,” Schultz said.

Except… they may not actually be false. No one can seem to prove otherwise. Instead of doing so, they issue nothing short of a gag order to keep the whole thing under wraps, and hope it goes away.

Read the letter to Sebelius here. Yes, that’s Grassley’s signature… I was surprised too.

My bet? They’re hanging on by a thread, desperately trying to sell this false ideological argument, and praying that the short attention span of the general public allows this to slip through.

Don’t let it happen.

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Posted in Congress, Democrats, GOP, Health Care, Obama, Policy Issues, Politics

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