Republican Party Brand: "Dog Food?"

On Tuesday, I'll be taking a very rare day off, but a new column will be up on this blog bright and early Wednesday. I invite to go either to http://pennsylvaniaforjohmccain.blogspot.com and/or to: http://hillarysupportersformccain.blogspot.com. Both of them are (relatively) new and GOOD!


Okay, I've now had more than 50,000 (!) visitors to my various blogs. My goal is get 150,000-plus additional visitors by Election Day. If I can somehow accomplish that, as well as get many other bloggers to "adopt" the candidates, those could be major factors in getting one (or more!) my "underdog" congressional candidates elected. You can read about several outstanding candidates on: http://pennsylvaniaforjohmccain.blogspot.com/. Keep coming back and tell your friends and supporters this site exists. Any ad revenue I can generated from Google AdSense will go to John McCain and Republican congressional candidates.

If you'd like to read about some truly superb Republican candidates, please visit my Pennsylvania blog. I'll reprint this column there, but generally they are distinctive. The column on my "Hillary" blog basically deals with Mrs. Clinton's options now that Obama appears certain to win the nomination.

It’s come to my attention (and how!) that a lot of Republicans are concerned about Rep. Tom Davis’ recent 20-page memo proclaiming the Republican Party as the equivalent of a “dead man walking.” He said if the “Republican Party brand” was a “dog food” it would be pulled from the shelves.

Davis is a 7th term Republican congressman from Virginia’s 11th District (Fairfax County, just outside DC). He’s retiring this year on a huge pension and life-time health benefits for him and his. As a congressman, he’s as “Beltway as it gets.” He’s one of a handful of Christian Scientists in Congress.

I hope he doesn’t regard his leaving as one of the operative causes of what he sees as the demise of the Republican Party. His comments don’t frighten me; they irritate me.

If the Republican Party has its troubles – and it does – people like him are responsible. He’s one of the Republican “leaders.” Tom Davis, whose voting record is half liberal, half conservative, voted for most of the big spending bills he now decries.

He loved his “earmarks,” those wasteful “special projects” made famous by Alaska’s “Bridge to Nowhere.” He never realized that no Republican congressman or congresswoman anymore can support earmarks, because they are invariably wasteful spending that adds to the budget deficit.

Tom’s constituents are presumably creating uproar over gasoline prices reaching $4 a gallon. However, Tom voted against drilling in ANWR, one of a number of Republicans who did so. Tom is one of those Republicans who think it’s a good idea to drill for and produce oil in other countries, but not in ours. People in Mideast call that hypocrisy, and it’s one reason they refuse to produce additional oil to satisfy our needs.

As I suggested earlier, Tom is one of those who uses the hip phrase “Republican brand.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “History is the lengthened shadow of a man (person).” Well, Tom, a political Party is the extension of the people in it. It is not “Frosted Flakes” or a Hyundai car.

If you have excellent people, you have a great Party. If you more than your share of Mark Foleys (of nasty e-mail fame), or Duke Cunningham (now in jail for bribery), or Bob Ney (also in jail), you have a Party that needs to rethink who it is and what it wants to be.

The Democrat’s “brand” is doing very well either. Right now, the national approval rating for Congress is lower than George Bush’s. It’s at 22%. That figure is a vote on the performance of people like Tom Davis. It’s a failing grade and one people like him richly deserve.

The Republican “brand” (i.e., the people running for office) in Pennsylvania is very strong. That’s because the people – Melissa Hart, Marina Kats, Tom Manion, Toni Gilhooley, and Mike Livingston – are outstanding human beings. Their life stories are tales of heroism and perseverance in the face of adversity.

Tom Davis one of the rudderless “leaders” who helped create the mess in Washington. Now, he’s turned around and, for the first time in his life, discovered there . . . a mess. So, he writes his endless memo in an effort to impress the Washington media types.

Spare us your lectures Tom. In Pennsylvania we’re planning to send a much better grade of people to Congress. They're going to solve problems – in national security, in spending, in terrorism threats, in education, and in crime – that you, Tom Davis, barely touched in your 14 years in the House.

The Republican congressional candidates in Pennsylvania are going to take back seats we lost in 2006 –and add a couple of surprises for the Democrats.

(More on this and related subjects in coming days. The columns will be on my Pennsylvania blog and on the two national ones. My emphasis will be on fairly simple (but occasionally painful) ways to solve our great national problems. Your comments are welcome.

MURTHA ECONOMICS: JOHNSTOWN, PA'S LOOMING DISASTER

NOTE TO ALL VISITORS: I've started another blog, one that deals with personal finances -- basically living better on less. It's meant to be humorous, insightful, and eye-opening. Please pay me a visit at: http://livebetteronless.blogspot.com. Then, bookmark it, keep coming back, and tell all your friends -- even your enemies -- to visit. It will have a new column every day. And God bless the blogosphere. -- Steve

JOHN MURTHA: PORTRAIT OF A POLITICAL BULLY

If John Murtha went to his Eternal Reward tomorrow, most of the bogus “jobs” he’s brought to Johnstown would disappear before the funeral Mass.

Voters who habitually cast their ballots for John Murtha are unintentionally ensuring that their kids and grandkids aren't going to be able to live in Johnstown, PA

John Murtha, congressman from Pennsylvania's Johnstown area, is a master of the nasty political business called "earmarks." These are basically federal grants that powerful congressmen get for special projects -- basically, no bid contracts -- in their districts.

The most famous earmark in modern times is the one Congressman Young of Alaska got for "The Bridge to Nowhere." Recently, Alaska's no-nonsense Governor, Sarah Palin, torpedoed the Bridge to Nowhere. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania's Governor, Ed Rendell, lacks the intestinal fortitude to do the same with Murtha's make-work earmarks.

Here's what the Harrisburg Patriot recently said about Murtha's earmarks:

"Murtha's a master of the 'earmark,' those pet projects and special interest items that lawmakers tuck into appropriations bills with little public scrutiny. Taxpayers for Common Sense estimates that Murtha has directed $600 million in earmarks to his district in the last four years."

"Over his 33 years in Congress, the [Wall Street] Journal found, many of his earmarks were for projects opposed by the Pentagon and other federal agencies as inefficient or unnecessary."

"Earmarks have become the way of doing business in Washington, where they were perfected to an art form by the previous Republican Congress. But Murtha's use of them is almost legendary."

Not only has he brought home the bacon, but the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, which recently listed Murtha as one of the most corrupt members of Congress, says he uses his power as subcommittee chairman to threaten to withhold earmarks from others who don't see certain political matters his way."

Murtha defends the earmark process as a good one. He says individual members of Congress are in the best position to determine how money should be doled out in their districts.

"That could be, but it has little to so with this system, which shortchanges taxpayers whose representatives and senators lack the seniority necessary to take the lid off the cookie jar"

The Harrisburg Patriot concludes, "And that should serve as a warning to those in Murtha's district. Enjoy it while it lasts, because he won't be there forever. Someday the gravy train will be redirected by some other political bully. By Murtha's own philosophy, that's as it should be in Washington."

Of course, Murtha's earmarks are very popular among short-sighted people in the Johstown area. However, as the Patriot indicates, the problem is that, when Murtha's politicalcareer comes to an end, the earmarks will dry up. At that point, the companies that bought Murtha's favors with campaign contributions have no reason to stay in the area. One supects that, before Murtha's funeral mass concludes, many of them will be gone.

At that point, Johnstown might soon be back at the situation it had in 1983, with 24% unemploymnet.

There are many things wrong with "earmark politics." It's essentially a very expensive way of increasing employment. Also, it essentially raises taxes in order to benefit one region at the expense of the rest of the country. It certainly increases Americans' cynicism about how politics works.

Let's compare Johnstown, population of about 27,000, to Blue Springs, Mississippi, population 150, a village near Tupelo, Mississippi (where "Elvis" was born). The prospects of that tiny town are much better than those of Johnstown.

Why? Because Toyota is building a large auto assembly plant there. Soon, Toyota will be the world's largest automaker -- and one of the most profitable.

Unlike Murtha's phantom companies, the Toyota plant should be around for many years. It will provide many good jobs for the current generation in the area -- and probably for their children and grandchildren. With the multiplier effect, the Toyota facility will lead to the creation of many small businesses -- and perhaps some large ones.

In other words, Toyota in Blue Springs will be a real company providing real jobs. Its future will not be dependent on some congressman's clout in extracting earmarks from the political system. In contrast, John Murtha's "accomplishments" in Johnstown will largely fade away when his tenure ends.

Apparently, Murtha assumes that Johnstown can't survive without the distribution of billions in dollars in government handouts.

The situation in Johnstown would be much different if Murtha had taken a page from Blue Springs, a town where taxes are low, the labor conditions are good, and the climate for private business is excellent. Is the climate for such businesses in Johnstown good? Apparently, only for those companies whose commitments to Johnstown depend directly on their receipt of federal dollars.

If you go to http://www.opensecrets.org/, you'll find that several companies -- including University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and PMA -- have given Murtha hundreds of thousands of dollars. That from companies that have received hundreds of millions (in taxpayer funds) from the congressman's efforts. When Murtha stops "giving," as the Patriot suggests, the companies will get going -- right out of Johnstown.

Johnstown will be able to tackle the real issues confronting the community when it elects a new congressman. That person will be William Russell, who's committed to putting the area on a sound economic footing -- and on creating jobs that will outlast the tenure of any congressman.

The Mainstream Media: Oblivious to New Realities on Iraq, McCain

If you want to know why so many people are so angry about John Murtha's false charges against the "Haditha Marines," please look to your right and click on the Newsmax story: "Bombshell Cripples Case Against Haditha Marines." If you want to hear some hard-htting conservative radio, click on Jenn of the Jungle, founder of http://screw/ liberals.com/ Tell us how you really feel, Jenn!

Note: As promised, I'll be writing later today and tomorrow about how John Murtha's use of "earmarks' (taxpayer funded projects directed to his district) do long-term harm to the Johnstown, PA area and to the nation.

The MSM has only a tangential relationship to relationship. Some fascinating things are happening, but the media, committed to stereotypes and repetition, is the last to know.

For example, the U.S. is winning the war against al Qaeda in Iraq, something that has escape the attention of many reporters. Also, John McCain, whose candidacy was long ago left for dead by many political journalists, is now running second (to Rudy Giuliani). These are important developments, but somehow the MSM seems oblivious to the implications.

As the U.S. position improves in Iraq, there are tremendous implications for the success of the Republican presidential nominee, for the Party's capacity to raise money, and for conservative candidates to win contested elections.

RUSSELL SUPPORTER? YOU'RE INVITED . . .

Hello,

Please be advised we will have a dinner/meeting on Thursday, 15 November, to welcome William Russell to Johnstown. As you all know Lieutenant Colonel Russell is challenging john murtha in Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District.

The dinner/meeting will be held at the City View restaurant in Johnstown at the top of Johnstown's historic Incline Plane. The address of the restaurant is 709 Edgehill Drive, Johnstown, PA 15905 and is in the Westmont section of town. The web address for the restaurant is www.inclinedplane.com/restaurant

We will have dinner at 6:00 and the meeting will start at approximately 7:15. The dinner is at your expense and appetizers and drinks will be available for purchase for those who only attend the meeting.

Please be advised you do not have to attend the dinner in order to attend the meeting and you are certainly welcome to attend the meeting only.

If you will be attending please e-mail me by Wednesday, 14 November, and let me know if you will be attending the dinner/meeting or just the meeting so I can ensure we reserve enough space.

Also, I encourage you to forward this e-mail to other supporters of LTC Russell since I do not have the e-mail addresses of all of my good bootmurtha friends. I look forward to seeing you on 15 November.

Craig Minnick
Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom

Reply to: IraqVeteran220@cs.com

Note from Steve: If you have any friends or family in the Pennsylvania/Ohio/WV areas, please forward this information to them. You can learn more about Lt. Col. Russell's campaign by going to: http://www.williamrussellforcongress.com/. I've written several columns about the Russell campaign -- scroll down.