Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal: “Americans Can Do Anything”

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal: “Americans Can Do Anything”

February 24, 2009

Americans Can Do Anything

“Good evening. I’m Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana.

Tonight, we witnessed a great moment in the history of our Republic. In the very chamber where Congress once voted to abolish slavery, our first African-American President stepped forward to address the state of our union. With his speech tonight, the President completed a redemptive journey that took our nation from Independence Hall . to Gettysburg . to the lunch counter . and now, finally, the Oval Office.

Regardless of party, all Americans are moved by the President’s personal story — the son of an American mother and a Kenyan father, who grew up to become leader of the free world. Like the President’s father, my parents came to this country from a distant land. When they arrived in Baton Rouge, my mother was already 4 ½ months pregnant. I was what folks in the insurance industry now call a ‘pre-existing condition.’

To find work, my dad picked up the yellow pages and started calling local businesses. Even after landing a job, he could still not afford to pay for my delivery — so he worked out an installment plan with the doctor. Fortunately for me, he never missed a payment.

As I grew up, my mom and dad taught me the values that attracted them to this country — and they instilled in me an immigrant’s wonder at the greatness of America. As a child, I remember going to the grocery store with my dad. Growing up in India, he had seen extreme poverty. And as we walked through the aisles, looking at the endless variety on the shelves, he would tell me: ‘Bobby, Americans can do anything.’

I still believe that to this day. Americans can do anything. When we pull together, there is no challenge we cannot overcome.

As the President made clear this evening, we are now in a time of challenge. Many of you listening tonight have lost jobs. Others have seen your college and retirement savings dwindle. Many of you are worried about losing your health care and your homes.

And you are looking to your elected leaders in Washington for solutions.

Republicans are ready to work with the new President to provide those solutions. Here in my state of Louisiana, we don’t care what party you belong to if you have good ideas to make life better for our people. We need more of that attitude from both Democrats and Republicans in our nation’s capital.

All of us want our economy to recover and our nation to prosper. So where we agree, Republicans must be the President’s strongest partners. And where we disagree, Republicans have a responsibility to be candid and offer better ideas for a path forward.

Today in Washington, some are promising that government will rescue us from the economic storms raging all around us. Those of us who lived through Hurricane Katrina, we have our doubts.
Let me tell you a story.

During Katrina, I visited Sheriff Harry Lee, a Democrat and a good friend of mine. When I walked into his makeshift office I’d never seen him so angry. He was yelling into the phone: ‘Well, I’m the Sheriff and if you don’t like it you can come and arrest me!’ I asked him: ‘Sheriff, what’s got you so mad?’ He told me that he had put out a call for volunteers to come with their boats to rescue people who were trapped on their rooftops by the floodwaters.

The boats were all lined up ready to go — when some bureaucrat showed up and told them they couldn’t go out on the water unless they had proof of insurance and registration. I told him, ‘Sheriff, that’s ridiculous.’ And before I knew it, he was yelling into the phone: ‘Congressman Jindal is here, and he says you can come and arrest him too!’ Harry just told the boaters to ignore the bureaucrats and start rescuing people.

There is a lesson in this experience: The strength of America is not found in our government. It is found in the compassionate hearts and enterprising spirit of our citizens.

We are grateful for the support we have received from across the nation for the ongoing recovery efforts. This spirit got Louisiana through the hurricanes — and this spirit will get our nation through the storms we face today.

To solve our current problems, Washington must lead. But the way to lead is not to raise taxes and put more money and power in hands of Washington politicians. The way to lead is by empowering you — the American people. Because we believe that Americans can do anything.

That is why Republicans put forward plans to create jobs by lowering income tax rates for working families, cutting taxes for small businesses, strengthening incentives for businesses to invest in new equipment and hire new workers, and stabilizing home values by creating a new tax credit for home-buyers.

These plans would cost less and create more jobs.

20090224 Louisiana Gov Bobby Jindal Americans Can Do Anything

Kevin Dayhoff www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/

Today in the DC Examiner: The Coming Conservative Ascendancy

Today in the DC Examiner: The Coming Conservative Ascendancy

November 20, 2008

Now that I have your attention!

Examiner Editorial: Barack Obama's strongest critic during the 2008 presidential campaign could turn out to be his most important ally in the coming energy debate.

Chris Stirewalt: Believe it or not, there are actually some differences between the Great Emancipator and The One.

Meghan Cox Gurdon: Will be back next week

Examiner OpEds:

* Mark Hyman says it's time to stop the bailouts and starve that beast on the Potomac.

* Michael Caputo introduces Joe the Plumber to Eliot Spitzer.

* John Wonderlich of the Sunlight Foundation sees technology as Obama's key tool for bringing about change in Washignton.

* Jeremy Lott and Eric Heidenrich of the Capital Research Center contend voters definitely did NOT go green in the 2008 election.

* Pamela Villarreal of the National Center for Policy Analysis hopes we all can save our 401(K)s before the GRA becomes a reality.

The Coming Conservative Ascendancy? I almost forgot:

Tapscott's Copy Desk:Notes on the Coming Conservative Ascendancy

20081120 Today in the DC Examiner The Coming Conservative Ascendancy

Today in the DC Examiner: Are we bailing out dead donkeys?

Today in the DC Examiner: Are we bailing out dead donkeys?

November 18, 2008

Examiner Editorial: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is handing out billions of tax dollars to selected Wall Street firms, but refuses to disclose any details of who, how much or with what in return. This is a major scandal-in-the-making.

Quin Hillyer: The Supreme Court agrees to hear another case that could put McCain-Feingold regulation of political speech in the legal garbage can where it belongs.

Examiner OpEd: John Hawkins pens an open letter to GOP members of the U.S. Senate, challenging them to try something new.

20081118 Today in the DC Examiner Are we bailing out dead donkeys?

Top Conservatives to Meet on Rebuilding Republican Party

After my column, “The Incredibly Shrinking Republican Party,” (http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=2869) was published in the Wednesday, November 12, 2008 edition of “The Tentacle,” I came across “Top Conservatives to Meet on Rebuilding Republican Party,” (http://www.truthout.org/103008M,) while I was doing some file maintenance… Nov. 12, 2008 Kevin Dayhoff

Truthout: http://www.truthout.org/103008M

Truthout: Top Conservatives to Meet on Rebuilding Republican Party by: Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian UK Wednesday 29 October 2008

Orlando - Senior Republicans are planning to meet at a rural retreat in Virginia within days of the election to discuss how to rebuild a party they expect to be badly beaten in the White House and congressional races.

[…]

Details of next week's post-election meeting, to be attended by state chairmen and prominent activists from the conservative wing of the party, are being kept secret for fear of being seen to preempt the outcome of the presidential contest.

It is intended to look at who should take over chairmanship of the party, whether the party needs to switch to the right, and to make plans for the next presidential election.

Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate, though not present, will be a central figure in discussions about the party's future.

One of the biggest post-mortems, if McCain loses, is scheduled for the week after the election, the Republican governors' annual meeting in Miami. Sessions planned include one looking back on the election titled, An in-depth evaluation of the 2008 election cycle.

Another session is titled, Looking towards the future: the Grand Ole Party in transition. There is also a section on the "rising stars of the party".

One of the concerns of the party is that, if the polls prove accurate, the Democrats are poised to make huge advances into its traditional base in the south and in western states such as Colorado. With New York and the north-east and almost all of the West Coast primarily in Democratic hands, the question is where to rebuild their base.

The other problem is that the party is short of political "stars" in contrast with the Democrats, apart from Palin. The hunt for new potential leaders could shift to the younger generation, including figures such as Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana.

[…]

At the governor's conference, from November 12 to 14, speakers lined up include Charlie Crist, the governor of Florida, and a host of southern governors, as well as retired general Tommy Franks, the right-wing columnist Bill Kristol and the pollster, Frank Luntz.

Another post-election meeting is one to be hosted by the South Carolina Republican chairman, Katon Dawson, who has invited state party leaders and others to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to ""discuss the lessons learned from the 2008 campaign, what we can do better and what it will take to win in 2010", the congressional mid-terms will be held. Dawson is among those seeking to become the next party chairman.

Read the entire article here: Top Conservatives to Meet on Rebuilding Republican Party

20081029 Truthout Top Conservatives to Meet on Rebuilding Republican Party

This week in The Tentacle

This week in The Tentacle

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The Incredibly Shrinking Republican Party

Kevin E. Dayhoff

The ink is hardly dry on the “historic” election of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and already those with 20/20 hindsight are dissecting and revising the two-year ordeal, known as the 2008 presidential election, with the conviction of someone who has just seen a flying saucer land in the backyard.

Where to begin?

For one thing, the Republican Party vigorously participated in its own victimization. It was as if the party had a psychotic episode of multiple manifestations and as a result, carefully choreographed its own suicide.

The Republican Party forgot its historic roots as standing for conservative fiscal policies, optimism and opportunity, personal accountability, and small, but responsive and efficient government.

Instead of reaching out to seize the opportunities afforded by changing political dynamics and demographics, it pathologically groped its navel in narcissistic delight.

However, my disdain is not heaped upon Arizona Sen. John McCain and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Although, let’s be clear, their campaign was undisciplined, inarticulate, uninspiring, and unfocused.

Much of my scorn is reserved for the failure of the national party leadership in general and the Republican congressional leaders in particular.

Read the entire column here: The Incredibly Shrinking Republican Party

Just Bustin’ Out All Over
Tom McLaughlin
It was as if a massive salt water wave swept over the country and washed away all of the hate and intolerance. I felt cleansed, jubilant and am still high from the November 4 election results. No more African-Americans, or Chinese-Americans, or Native Americans. We are all Americans.


Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Please, Jennifer, Not Again
Roy Meachum
Jennifer Dougherty's loss record for elections stands four-to-one after Tuesday's drubbing by Rep. Roscoe Bartlett. The only time she won, incumbent Mayor Jim Grimes shot himself in the foot. Repeatedly. When she tried for a second term, her own party dumped her; the first mayor in modern times to be defeated in a primary.


“It’s Good To Be A Teacher…”
Nick Diaz
Work-to-rule, teachers’ contract, planning time, Board of Education, FCTA, negotiated agreement – these topics, and more, have surfaced recently in Frederick concerning local education issues.


Monday, November 10, 2008
Election Post Mortem
Steven R. Berryman
Election 2008 is over. America now has a new president-elect, and an opportunity to evaluate just what Barack Obama’s victory means. Here are some lessons learned along with some 20/20 hindsight.


Friday, November 7, 2008
A Reason for Hope
Roy Meachum
In the middle of the Clintons' primary struggle to take away the people's nomination of Barack Obama, I threatened to resign from the Democratic Party if they succeeded. Between them and their cohorts they had the means in their grasp.


Whither Goes America?
Joe Charlebois
What does it mean to be a patriotic American? Recently that question was brought up by some politicians and pounced on by many pundits. Well, if you don't jump to conclusions, like so many have, this subject can be looked at as a way to follow up on the true transformation of our society since its founding 232 years ago.


Thursday, November 6, 2008
Democrats Get Their Turn
Chris Cavey
Election Day 2008 was a depressing, gut-wrenching day for the Republican Party. The citizens of the United States continued their flogging of the party of Lincoln with the ongoing removal of Republican seats from both chambers of Congress, and a rejection of their candidate for president, John McCain.


Landfill & Waste-to-Energy Facts
Joan McIntyre
In the words of Joe Friday, Jack Webb's on Dragnet: “Just the facts ma'am." That's what you are about to get – facts and more facts.


Wednesday, November 5, 2008
It’s the Congress, Stupid!
Kevin E. Dayhoff
When historians look back on the 670-day, $2.5 billion 2008 presidential campaign, the observations, analysis, second-guessing, and finger pointing will fill volumes. In the end, it was once again, “the economy, stupid” that ruled the day.


A Tale of Two Campaigns
Tom McLaughlin
This election, I was proud to be a part of two Democratic congressional campaigns. The First District in Maryland, mostly on the Eastern Shore, was where I lived while in Ocean City. I moved to the Sixth District when I relocated to Middletown.


Tuesday, November 4, 2008
The Long, Messy Campaign
Roy Meachum
Today arrives as Boxing Day for Christmas and Ash Wednesday for Mardi Gras. Take your pick. The presidential campaign for all intents and purposes ended yesterday. The number of voters who might be persuaded by last minute exhortations is certainly miniscule.


Local Issues ARE Important, Too
Farrell Keough
What an interesting time slot to post a column. Today we engage in one of our most auspicious rights – the ability to vote for our representatives. Good luck!


Monday, November 3, 2008
The Big Non-Surprise
Richard B. Weldon Jr.
Former Secretary of State and highly decorated U.S. Army Gen. Colin Powell, a registered Republican, rocked the political establishment recently. On NBC's Meet the Press, General Powell revealed that he is abandoning his political party and endorsing Sen. Barack Obama, for President of The United States.


Predicting The Result
Steven R. Berryman
I have no crystal ball, but considering the events upcoming on Election Day, I feel compelled to prognosticate aloud. John McCain and Sarah Palin will be your next president and vice president of the United States of America. And here’s why:


It’s Your Choice – Part 3
Bill Brosius
We’ve seen the Reverend Wright rant “God damn America” on TV; seen his contempt for and hatred of America, and of whites. He preached: “America is a country run by rich white men.” You could not more succinctly combine racism, contempt of those hard workers who accumulate wealth, and socialism in fewer words.

20081112 This week in The Tentacle

The Republican Study Committee Economic Rescue Alternative Plan

The Republican Study Committee Economic Rescue Alternative Plan

Economic Rescue Alternative Plan

(9/29/08)

Today, as the House considers Treasury's financial rescue plan, the RSC has released alternative legislation to provide relief in the financial markets while protecting free-market principles. The bill includes the original Repbulican alternative legislation as well as the provisions the RSC unveiled earlier in the week (capital gains relief, GSE privatization, suspending mark-to-market regulations, etc.). The RSC has distributed this summary of the bill, which provides a detailed outline of the alternative.

RSC Legislative Bulletin: The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (9/29/08)The RSC has analyzed the text of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act and distibuted this Legislative Bulletin, containing a summary of the bill's highlights.

Conservatives Question Bailout Plan (9/19/08)

Leading conservatives in the House have publicly questioned the soundness of Treasury Secretary Paulson’s plan for a taxpayer bailout of the financial markets.

Read the letter from 31 House conservatives to Treasury Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke here.

Read the statement from RSC Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) here.

Read the statement from former RSC Chairman Mike Pence (R-IN) here.

ECONOMIC RESCUE ALTERNATIVE PLAN

September 29, 2008

We believe that policymakers must act decisively and correctly.

We believe that we can help Wall Street “workout” of this crisis, not force the taxpayers into a “bailout.”

We believe that voluntary private capital, not involuntary taxpayer capital, will help the system recover.

A Work-Out—Not a Bail-Out

Stabilizing Financial Markets: Require the Treasury Department to guarantee losses up to 100%, resulting from the failure of timely payment and interest from mortgage-backed securities (MBS) originated prior to the date of enactment. Such insurance would provide immediate value to the MBS and a foundation for which they could then be sold.

Risk-Based Premiums: Direct the Treasury Department to assess a premium on outstanding MBS to finance this insurance. Participation in the program would be mandatory for all holders of such MBS in order to guard against adverse selection where only the holders of troubled assets participate. A risk-based premium would be assessed on those with troubled MBS. The premium would expire when the Treasury Secretary determines the fund has sufficient resources to meet any projected losses.

Private-Capital Off the Sidelines by Empowering Private Investors

Net Operating Losses: Allow companies to carry-back losses arising in tax years ending in 2007, 2008, or 2009 back 5 years, generating a tax refund and immediate capital. Despite the presence of willing buyers, many firms with MBS are not willing to sell at such a huge loss. Such a carry-back provides a cushion for any such loss, making firms more willing sellers.

Repatriation Infusion: Allow a repatriation window for profits earned by U.S. firms overseas. Such repatriation amounts would be taxed at 0% if invested in distressed debt (as defined by Treasury) for at least one year.

Bank Losses on GSE Stock: Allow banks to treat losses on shares of preferred stock in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as ordinary losses, not as capital losses.

Two-Year Suspension of the Capital Gains: Immediately suspend the capital gains rate from 15% for individuals and 35% for corporations. By encouraging corporations to sell unwanted assets, this provision would unleash funds and materials with which to create jobs and grow the economy. After the two-year suspension, capital gains rates would return to present levels but assets would be indexed permanently for any inflationary gains.

Reforming a Failure in Government Institutions

Limit Federal Backing for High Risk Loans: Mandate that GSEs no longer securitize any unsound mortgage that is: (1) not fully documented to meet minimum requirements for work, assets, and income; (2) written to comply with any law or regulation that would otherwise violate a firm’s lending rules.

Schedule the GSEs for Privatization: Transition Fannie and Freddie over a reasonable time period to truly private companies without special government privileges and open them up to real market competition. This reform would 1) establish commonsense limits for their capital requirements and portfolio holdings relative their size, 2) focus their mission on affordable housing only, not profit making, 3) require them to pay an appropriate risk-based amount for the government guarantee they enjoy, 4) subject them to state and local taxes and accurate SEC filings like every other private for-profit corporation, and 5) ultimately provide for the phase out their GSE charters once their conservatorship has ended.

Suspend “Mark to Market” Accounting: Direct the SEC to suspend the mark-to-market regulatory rules until the agency can issue new guidelines that will allow firms to mark these assets to their true economic value. The current rules contribute to a downward spiral as firms have to evaluate their assets not on the basis of their long-term investment but rather on a short-term mania.

Stabilize the Dollar: Repeal the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act which diverts the Federal Reserve’s attention from long-term price stability to short-term economic growth. In an effort to fuel the economy, this additional mandate has encouraged the Fed to keep rates artificially low, fueling economic boom and busts, and now a strong up-tick in inflation and the decline of the dollar (as investors free dollars for hard assets). This reform would require the Fed to establish a numerical definition for price stability and maintain a policy that promotes it over the long-term.

Oversight and Corporate Accountability

Executive Compensation Limits: Require the Treasury to write rules prohibiting excessive compensation or golden parachutes to executives of failed companies at the expense of taxpayers.

Strict Enforcement of Laws Designed to Protect Investors: Task the SEC with reviewing the annual audit reports of entities the federal government has brought under conservatorship or now owns, and determine if those annual audit reports from years 2005 to present accurately reflected the financial health of those businesses.

Staff Contact: Russ Vought, 202-226-8581, russ.vought@mail.house.gov

Related:

The Pelosi Charm

Transcript of Speaker Pelosi’s Floor Statement on the partisan Financial Rescue Legislation moments before it was voted down

Doug Ross: Any Questions

Doug Ross The Fannie Mae testimony that will make you scream in anger

20080928 The Republican Study Committee Economic Rescue Alternative Plan

http://www.house.gov/hensarling/rsc/

20080117 O’Malley: Slow To Govern, Quick To Make Mistakes by Maryland Republican Party Chairman Jim Pelura

O’Malley: Slow To Govern, Quick To Make Mistakes

An Op-Ed by Maryland Republican Party Chairman Jim Pelura

January 17, 2008

Democrat Gov. Martin O’Malley was inaugurated one year ago today. What a difference a year makes! We started 2007 with his do-nothing Regular Session of the General Assembly and ended with his rush-to-do-everything Special Session.

Early in 2007, Martin O’Malley was criticized for being “slow to govern.” Democrats were complaining that O’Malley had no legislative agenda and that he had not filled vacancies within his Cabinet. When O’Malley did come up with legislative priorities, he failed to build majority support for a repeal of the death penalty or granting in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants.

After the Regular Session ended, editorial boards took note of the unfinished business and what would need to wait until the next Session. In particular, O’Malley pushed through a $30 billion budget without the necessary revenue to fund it. The Republicans, on the other hand, put forth a fiscally responsible, budget alternative that would have balanced the budget without raising taxes. Indeed, O’Malley was “slow to govern” and was not “ready for primetime.”

One month after his do-nothing Regular Session concluded, O’Malley’s Public Service Commission dropped a bomb shell. They announced they were approving a request by BGE to raise utility rates. Candidate O’Malley promised on the campaign trail to “stop the rate hike.” As a candidate, he blamed Governor Ehrlich for the proposed rate hike a year before and claimed Ehrlich could act, but wouldn’t. Now, O’Malley was claiming that he, as Governor, had no authority to stop the rate hike. In fact, his hand-picked Public Service Commission was approving a rate hike higher than what Ehrlich’s PSC approved. This would be just one of many campaign promises O’Malley would break within his first year in office.

O’Malley then spent the summer trying to convince Marylanders that they should pay more in taxes. He tried every angle – “the rich need to pay more of their share,” “vital services will need to be cut,” and “I inherited this big deficit from Governor Ehrlich.” Nobody was buying it. They knew O’Malley, a tax-and-spend liberal, was raiding the wallets of working families to deliver political favors to his left-wing allies.

Martin O’Malley was even forced to backtrack on his quest to raise the gas tax. With record gas prices, O’Malley wanted to increase the burden on working families so he would have more money in the transportation slush fund to use for his left-wing agenda. After the Minneapolis bridge collapse last summer, O’Malley even tried to make the case that he needed to raise the gas tax to address the state’s infrastructure needs. In particular, his Administration revealed that the Bay Bridge was built similarly to the Minneapolis Bridge that collapsed. The Maryland Republican Party put out information showing that the Bay Bridge and many of the state’s major bridges and tunnels were self-funded by tolls collected and were not permitted to receive gas tax money. We called on O’Malley to be honest in his dealings with Marylanders, and he eventually gave up on the gas tax increase.

Martin O’Malley then called a rush-to-do-everything Special Session, since he failed to lead earlier in the year. He did so without the agreement of Speaker Mike Busch, Senate President Mike Miller, or the Republican Caucus. Republican and Democrat leaders and editorial boards of several newspapers cautioned against calling a Special Session. The Maryland GOP predicted that if a Special Session occurred, legislators would not be able to fully deliberate over the details of legislation and that members of the public would not be given adequate notice and time to voice their opposition. Unfortunately, our predictions proved to be true.

On the first day of the Special Session, the Maryland Republican Party organized the largest anti-tax rally in Maryland history and brought the message directly to the Democrat leadership. Marylanders saw the Special Session as the sham that it was. O’Malley’s disapproval numbers jumped by ten points and a majority of the coveted unaffiliated voters indicated that they believe that Maryland is going in the wrong direction under Governor Martin O’Malley. In recent weeks, O’Malley’s approval rating has dropped even further to among the lowest in ten years.

Republicans, Democrats, and unaffiliated voters flooded their legislators’ phones and e-mail accounts with outrage that the largest tax increase in Maryland history was occurring in the dark of night. Everyone but O’Malley and the Democrat leadership knew that there was a spending problem, not a revenue problem. They understood that the tax increases being proposed were extremely regressive and would hurt those least able to pay. They also knew that if their own families had to work within a budget so should the state government.

Every day of Special Session, O’Malley and the Democrats targeted another group of Marylanders for higher taxes. They hit a wall of opposition everywhere they turned. In the end, they shifted their tax increase to computer services without any public hearings or debate. Many legislators who supported this tax increase now realize that they acted rashly and that the tax will be difficult to enforce and will cripple the high-tech sector in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., which competes with Northern Virginia. Republican legislators are putting forth legislation for a full repeal of the computer services tax.

O’Malley’s do-nothing Regular Session and his rush-to-do-everything Special Session demonstrate that he is slow to govern and quick to make mistakes. He is ill-equipped to lead and has made errors in judgment that will have long-term ramifications for the state’s economy and the freedoms of our citizenry.

###

Related:

1/17/2008 Chairman Pelura: O'Malley - Slow To Govern, Quick To Make Mistakes

1/16/2008 Maryland GOP Wins First Battle Of '08 Over Illegal Immigration

1/14/2008 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT - Taxes Fuel Discontent - O'Malley's Approval Rating Plummets in Survey

1/9/2008 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT - O'Malley's Job Approval Rating Hits New Low

1/3/2008 Republicans Call on Attorney General to Request Investigation of Special Session Actions

20071101 President Bush speaks at The Heritage Foundation

Nov. 1, 2007 President Bush speaks at The Heritage Foundation

Coverage of this and other current events on The Heritage Foundation Web Site… Every time I make the time to go to this web site – I learn something… I’ll bet you will also.

November 1, 2007 | By Nathaniel Ward | Read online

Featured video

President Bush speaks at The Heritage Foundation about the war on terror.

More videos ;

Bush at Heritage: No letup in the war on terror

Speaking Thursday at The Heritage Foundation, President Bush called on lawmakers to fund the troops in combat, confirm his Attorney General nominee, and give intelligence agencies the tools they need to win the war on terror.

Watch the video of the Presidents speech at Heritage.

On every battlefront were on the offense, keeping constant pressure, the President said today in Heritages Allison Auditorium. And in this war on terror, we will not rest or retreat or withdraw from the fight until this threat to civilization has been removed.

Read the President’s full remarks.

“Here’s the bottom line,” he continued:

This is no time for Congress to weaken the Department of Justice by denying it a strong and effective leader. It’s no time for Congress to weaken our ability to gather vital intelligence from captured terrorists. It’s no time for Congress to weaken our ability to intercept information from terrorists about potential attacks on the United States of America. And this is no time for Congress to hold back vital funding for our troops as they fight al Qaeda terrorists and radicals in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But many liberals in Congress, he argued, are beholden to radicals groups that don’t believe we’re at war at all.

Bush, the first sitting president to speak at The Heritage Foundations headquarters on Capitol Hill, also took a moment to compliment Heritage. The folks here have been tireless advocates, tireless champions of liberty and free enterprise and democracy and religious freedom, he said. Heritage experts, he added, are people who are willing to look at todays problems and come up with innovative solutions based upon sound principles to solve those problems.

He concluded his remarks by highlighting Heritages status as a permanent institution in Washington defending conservative principles. I believe 50 years from now an American president will be speaking to Heritage and say, Thank God that generation that wrote the first chapter in the 21st century understood the power of freedom to bring the peace we want.

Full coverage of the President’s remarks

Read news coverage of President Bushs speech from the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press (and in a separate AP article as well), Reuters, CNN.com, United Press International, MSNBC.com, Bloomberg, National Journal and National Public Radio.

View news photos from the event.

In other news

With Congress unable to pass meaningful immigration controls, several states are cracking down on illegal immigration.

Congress may cut funding for missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic. Heritages Sally McNamara explains why this is a bad idea in a Heritage video.

Heritage President Ed Feulner was rated among the top 50 American conservatives in a new listing by Britains Telegraph newspaper.

Wednesdays e-mail misstated when President Bush last spoke to a Heritage audience. He addressed Presidents Club members in November 2003.

Coming up at Heritage

To attend these or any other Heritage Foundation events, RSVP at Heritages events website. Or you can watch these events live online at Heritage.org. All times are Eastern.

On Friday, Nov. 2 at noon, author Paul Kengor discusses his new book on Bill Clarks close relationship with President Reagan.

On Monday, Nov. 5 at noon, British Crown Judge Inigo Bing speaks at The Heritage Foundation about over-criminalization in his country.

On Tuesday, Nov. 6 at noon, John West of the Discovery Institute looks at how liberal notions of scientific solutions to our problems ended up dehumanizing politics and culture.

Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.orga website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation. Colin Gowan contributed to this report.

20071010 NewsBusters: Baltimore Sun Smears Conservative Bloggers Over SCHIP Scrutiny

20071010 NewsBusters: Baltimore Sun Smears Conservative Bloggers Over SCHIP Scrutiny

Newsbusters: Baltimore Sun Smears Conservative Bloggers Over SCHIP Scrutiny

How dare anyone question the moral authority of the Baltimore Sun? I’m shocked. Shocked I say.

By Ken Shepherd | October 10, 2007

On September 29, 2007, Baltimore 12-year old Graeme Frost became the Democratic poster child, literally, for SCHIP. Frost read the Democratic Party's official response to the president's weekly radio address, attacking President Bush for his veto of a Democratic-sponsored bill to balloon federal spending on the 10-year old program.

The Baltimore Sun ran a story that morning noting young Graeme Frost's brush with political football history, and two days earlier ran a gauzy profile on Graeme's mom and dad and their push for the Democratic SCHIP expansion here. But now that conservative bloggers have been raising questions about the portrayal by Democrats and the Baltimore Sun of the family's financial plight, the Sun is hitting back by attacking conservatives bloggers as heartless and obsessive, Michelle Malkin noted on her blog.

[…]

Yet following blogger inquiries and the subsequent liberal blog outlash, the Sun is sharpening its knives for conservative bloggers who dared to question the Frost photo-op, complained Michelle Malkin in an update to her October 9 post, "Democrat poster-child abuse, the nutroots’ pushback, and the continued campaign to silence the Right" (emphasis mine):

Update 11:50am Eastern 10/10. Here’s the Baltimore Sun’s nutroots-approved follow-up piece on the Frost family, using a single, rotten comment by a stupid RedState commenter to tar all conservative bloggers as hatemongers.

Read the entire post here: Baltimore Sun Smears Conservative Bloggers Over SCHIP Scrutiny

The State Children's Health Insurance Program, developed by the Republican-led Congress in 1997 is a worthy program.

It’s the expansion of the program into the economic demographic that many feel “ought to” be able to prioritize their finances in such a manner to provide their family with health insurance that is the rub.

Rolling out the 12-year-old to advocate for the program was cringe worthy – and ill advised. It smacked of manipulative exploitation. The line: "I don't know why President Bush wants to stop kids who really need help from getting CHIP…,” in particular stuck in the crawl of many folks.

That being said, it was a brilliant move by the liberals. A child’s compelling story illustrating the benefits of a social welfare program was an inspired strategy. Perhaps the smartest thing folks could’ve done would have been to ignore the child and the family and stuck with the merits of the issue. Concede that the liberals out-maneuvered conservatives in that inning – and concentrate on the next inning.

Indeed, my view is to leave the family alone and concentrate on the merits of the issue. Do we as a nation really want to expand a social welfare program to underwrite folks who otherwise may very well be in a position to pay for the service on their own? And is it one more step in the direction of socialized government-run health care?

As for the Baltimore Sun, the paper practically invented character assassination and drive-by mayhem with any position for which the paper disagrees. So the sanctimonious dismay over folks challenging the paper’s position is well accepted as disingenuous.

Can you imagine what the paper would have done to the family of a 12 –year-old who would have taken a national position advocating a conservative cause?

I have no problem with the paper taking a position. My problem is that the paper contends that it is not biased and the view of many is that it is a newsletter for liberal causes and the Maryland and National Democratic Parties.

The approach of the Baltimore Sun has equally been brilliant.

OMG – please take a look at the “Dorothea Lange – Walter Evans” genre picture taken by (one of the best photographers in the business) Barbara Haddock Taylor to accompany the Matthew Hay Brown, October 10, 2007 Baltimore Sun article, “Frost family draws ire of conservatives.”

The only improvement that could’ve happened is perhaps the Baltimore Sun should’ve printed the picture in black and white – and one could have not been able to tell the difference between the Ms. Taylor photo and a Dorothea Lange classic depression era photo-documentary.

The articles by Mr. Brown have been extraordinarily well written.

More when I get a chance…

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20070908 Officials: Sen. Hagel not to run again AP

Officials: Sen. Hagel not to run again

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent September 8, 2007

WASHINGTON - Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, a persistent Republican critic of the Iraq war, intends to announce on Monday he will not seek a third term, according to Republican officials.

The officials also said Hagel does not plan to run for the White House in 2008, despite earlier flirting with a candidacy.

The 60-year-old senator arranged a news conference for Monday in Omaha, Neb., to make his formal announcement. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid pre-empting the event.

The decision by Hagel is the latest in a string of setbacks for minority Republicans in the Senate, who must defend 22 of the 34 seats on the ballot next fall.

Last week, Sen. John Warner of Virginia announced his retirement, a decision expected to create an intensely competitive race for a seat he probably would have held easily had he decided to run again.

Nebraska is one of the most Republican states in the nation, but Hagel's retirement could open the way for former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey to attempt a political comeback. […]

Read the entire article here: Officials: Sen. Hagel not to run again

20070515 MSNBC is reporting that Rev. Jerry Falwell has passed away

MSNBC is reporting that Rev. Jerry Falwell has passed away

Moral Majority leader Falwell dies

May 15, 2007 2:30 PM

Evangelical pastor was found in his university office

BREAKING NEWS

MSNBC staff and news service reports

Updated: 2:09 p.m. ET May 15, 2007

LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Rev. Jerry Falwell — founder of the Moral Majority and the face of the religious right in the 1980s — died Tuesday after being found unconscious in his office, a Liberty University executive said.

Ron Godwin, Liberty's executive vice president, said Falwell, 73, had been found unresponsive around 10:45 a.m. and was taken to Lynchburg General Hospital.

Read the entire article here: Moral Majority leader Falwell dies

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20070307 House Republican Caucus Announces Position on Death Penalty

Maryland General Assembly House Republican Caucus

Announces Position on Death Penalty

March 7^th, 2007

-----

Media Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Shannon Oxley or Kelly Schulz

House Republican Caucus Announces Position on Death Penalty

(March 7, 2007) Today, House Minority Leader Anthony J. ODonnell announced that the House Republican Caucus has taken a formal position in opposition to the proposed repeal of the death penalty in Maryland, HB 225/SB 211.

The death penalty needs to be available when prosecuting the most heinous crimes said Delegate ODonnell (District 29C). It is the supreme punishment, and should not be entirely removed from the justice system.

It is in the best interests of Marylands citizens and public safety that capital punishment remain an option. While improvements in the administration of the death penalty and DNA evidence collection are warranted, removal of the death penalty as a sentence is injudicious and inappropriate.

Society has a right, when conditions warrant, under the narrowest of circumstances, to impose this ultimate penalty said Delegate Christopher Shank, House Minority Whip (District 2B).

House Bill 225/Senate Bill 211 would repeal Marylands death penalty statute and all provisions relating to it, and would impose a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for those convicted of murder in the first degree. The bill would also prevent the execution of those inmates currently on death row, and will provide that those inmates shall be considered to have received a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Marylands current death penalty statute was enacted in 1978. It contains stringent standards for the application of the penalty, to ensure both that the penalty is not subject to arbitrary application, and that it is applied only in the prosecution of the most egregious crimes. Since 1978, 5 persons have been executed in Maryland. There are currently 6 inmates on Marylands death row. FBI crime statistics show that between 1978 and 2005, approximately 13,354 murders have occurred in Maryland.

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20070217 Too funny: YouTube – “Republicans Suck”; “Liberals Suck.”

20070217 Too funny: YouTube – “Republicans Suck”; “Liberals Suck.”

Too funny: YouTube – “Republicans Suck”; “Liberals Suck.”

February 17^th, 2007

“Republicans Suck”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=66COez-8jpk

I also liked “Liberals Suck” but can’t post it on “Soundtrack.”

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20070204 Transcript: Sen. Lindsey Graham on 'FOX News Sunday'

20070204 Transcript: Sen. Lindsey Graham on 'FOX News Sunday'

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,250205,00.html

Transcript: Sen. Lindsey Graham on 'FOX News Sunday'

Sunday , February 04, 2007

The following is a partial transcript of the Feb. 4, 2007, edition of "FOX News Sunday With Chris Wallace":

"FOX NEWS SUNDAY" HOST CHRIS WALLACE: Joining us now, one of the strongest supporters of the president's Iraq war policy, Senator Lindsey Graham, who comes to us from his home state of South Carolina.

Senator, we had another terrible bombing in Baghdad Saturday, killing more than 130 people. While the National Intelligence Estimate talks about the dangers of pulling out, it also says the following, "The intelligence community judges that the term 'civil war' does not adequately capture the complexity of the conflict in Iraq."

Senator, do you really think that sending another 17,000 U.S. troops into a city of six million is going to stop something that's even worse, more complex, than a civil war?

GRAHAM: Yes, I think additional troops would help dramatically. What's the biggest mistake we've made in Iraq? You talk about me supporting the president's policy. I've been saying for three years now that General Shinseki was right, and Abizaid and Casey were wrong, when they talked about the military footprint necessary to achieve stability.

General Petraeus' plan is not more people doing the same. And if anybody says that, they're not listening to General Petraeus. This surge has a military component. Seventeen thousand, five hundred additional troops in Baghdad would double the combat capability of the American military to hold areas cleared.

I see results that are in — that make me feel like this can work. The bombing was an act of terrorism to divide the country and to break our will and to topple the government.

But 17,500 more troops in Baghdad married up with the new Iraqi strategy of going into any neighborhood we need to go into to hold territory that was previously cleared will work to allow political reconciliation.

This idea that our key to success in Iraq is through Syria and Iran is naive. The things that unite Syria and Iran — the one thing that unites Syria and Iran is that they don't want a democracy in Iraq because it's a threat to their dictatorships, and that's what divides us from Syria and Iran.

So very simply put, we need to surge militarily, economically and political to allow the Iraqi government to achieve political reconciliation. That's the key to success in Iraq. And nobody will get a political deal with this level of violence.

We need more troops. We need more economic aid. We need more political assistance.

WALLACE: Senator, but the National Intelligence Estimate, the NIE, which came out at the end of this week is very pessimistic about what can be accomplished over the next 18 months even with a troop surge.

Take a look if you will, sir. "Even if violence is diminished, given the current winner-take-all attitude and sectarian animosities infecting the political scene, Iraqi leaders will be hard-pressed to achieve sustained political reconciliation."

GRAHAM: And what does the NIE tell us otherwise, that if we withdraw from Iraq in the next 12 months to 18 months, there will be a bloodletting Iraq, sectarian nature, that there'll be a problem between Turkey and the Kurds in the north, and that the problems in Iraq will spill over into a regional war.

So this is our dilemma. The best chance left for us to stabilize Iraq, in my opinion, is to surge militarily, economically and politically, allowing the political leadership of Iraq the opportunity to get some breathing room, to share the oil revenues with the Sunnis and do the other political deals they need to make to bring about stability.

If we leave, it is a death blow. If we say we're going to leave at a date certain, it will freeze every effort to reach political reconciliation. I can not guarantee you success, but I can promise you this: The day you set timelines and deadlines, it's lost in Iraq and it becomes a bigger war, not a smaller war.

So this is our last best chance, and I do believe General Petraeus knows what he's doing. I'm going to support him and I'm going to fight any effort by the Congress in a non-binding resolution to say there's no confidence in his new plan, because I have a lot of confidence in his new idea. And we should have done it years ago.

WALLACE: Senator, you and John McCain have introduced your own resolution that would set benchmarks for the Iraqi government...

GRAHAM: Right.

WALLACE: ... including — one of which is that they would keep their share of — their commitment to send more troops into Baghdad.

But Defense Secretary Rumsfeld — or Gates, rather, said Friday that Iraqi units are arriving in Baghdad at only 55 percent of the manpower that they were supposed to have. Haven't the Iraqis already started to break their promises to us on keeping their commitments?

GRAHAM: What we've got to do is judge them across the board. The resolution says that we have confidence in General Petraeus, that he will never be denied what he needs to implement this new strategy, and it realizes, Chris, that a million new American troops won't solve the problem.

The only way we're going to have success in Iraq is through political reconciliation, political compromise. The thing that I'm looking for is, number one, will they reach a deal on the oil. Will they allow the Sunnis a piece of the oil revenue in Iraq so the Sunnis would have something to fight for, not against?

Will they go after the militia? The biggest threat to this infant democracy, which is eight months old, is out-of-control militia groups. We're finally going to where the militias live and hide and we're making progress.

WALLACE: But, Senator, if I may...

GRAHAM: Yes, the Iraqi military needs to...

WALLACE: ... what do you make of the fact that the Iraqi units — here we have this big agreement with Maliki — we're going to send in more troops, you're going to send in more troops — and the Iraqi units are arriving at 55 percent manpower?

GRAHAM: I don't know enough of the details yet, but it's certainly something to watch and be concerned about. What I've seen and what I've heard is the Iraqis are fighting better. They're standing side by side.

And this idea of Senator Clinton that we're going to defund the Iraqi army and not provide security to the Iraqi political leaders to me is a dangerous thing to be publicly saying.

We're going to watch the performance of the Iraqi army. We're going to watch the performance of the politicians in Iraq, but we're not going to tell the enemy we're leaving. We're not going to empower Al Qaeda. We're not going to let Syria and Iran topple this young democracy by meddling.

We're going to stand with the forces of moderation, as imperfect as they are, and we're going to try to get this right by making up for past mistakes. We cannot have a democracy with militias roaming the country out of control. You can't have a democracy with 40 percent unemployment in Baghdad.

We need more American capacity across the board to help the Iraqis. In a year from now, if this thing fails, it will be a war a lot greater in nature than it is today. So that's why we need to get it right while we still can.

WALLACE: Senator, what do you think are the chances that any of these resolutions — your resolution with John McCain, the Warner compromise — that any of these resolutions will get the 60 votes they need to pass the Senate?

GRAHAM: I don't believe any of them are going to get 60 votes except the resolution not to cut off funding or put troop caps in place. I hope there's a resolution.

If the Democrats really believe this war is lost and this is just another Vietnam in another form, cut off funding. The worst thing this Congress could do, literally, is to let the troops go forward, after approving General Petraeus with no — unanimously, but say we don't believe in your mission; we're going to let you go, but we don't believe in your mission.

So these resolutions — the Warner-Levin resolution disapproves of the surge, and it doesn't allow any new reinforcements in Baghdad. Are you going to give the capital of the country over to the terrorists and to the extremists?

We have to deal with sectarian violence in Baghdad. We're either going to deal with it now or we'll deal with it later, and it will be a bigger problem later. So I don't think any of these resolutions should pass.

Former Senator Edwards had something right in this regard. Bush would ignore it if it did, and he should. He should ignore these non-binding political resolutions that mean nothing other than domestic political politics, and the enemy won't ignore them.

If we pass a resolution saying this is lost before it's given a chance to be implemented, the enemy will seize upon that, be emboldened, and our troops will be sent off in a disheartening fashion, because these resolutions are terrible ideas.

WALLACE: Senator, you talk about Senator Clinton and Senator Edwards, but the fact is there are a lot of Republicans — we count 16 — who have either opposed the president's troop surge or have expressed doubts about it.

How much panic is there in the Republican Senate Caucus when it comes to Iraq and 2008?

GRAHAM: There's a lot of panic. There's panic among the Democratic '08 hopefuls. They're panicking. Senator Clinton has gone from the middle of the road to the left ditch. I mean, everybody's trying to get to the left of each other in the Democratic primary for president.

WALLACE: How about in your party, sir?

GRAHAM: And we've got some Republicans who are — excuse me?

WALLACE: I'm saying how about your party.

GRAHAM: Oh, yes, we've got some Republicans that are worried about how this will play out for '08. And here's what I'm telling my Republican colleagues. A non-binding resolution that is a vote of no confidence, that says we can't fight in Baghdad, and just give the capital over to the enemy is not going to help you one bit in 2008.

And if you're looking at this whole year between now and 2008 — how to get re-elected, you're missing the boat. We should be united as a country to make sure we're successful in Iraq, because this is not about the next election. This is about decades to come.

And we're about to make a huge mistake I don't think Ronald Reagan would have made. You know, Jim Webb worked for Ronald Reagan. Well, he missed the economic message of Ronald Reagan, and I think he missed what Ronald Reagan did in the Cold War.

Now's the time for us to adjust our strategy, and not more of the same, but reinforce Iraq before it gets to the point that we can't turn it around. We still can turn it around.

A non-binding resolution is a political exercise that does nothing but harm to the war effort, in my opinion, and it's a small moment for the Senate.

WALLACE: Senator, we're going to have to leave it there. I want to thank you so much for talking with us. And please come back, sir.

GRAHAM: Thank you.

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