"All the Democratic leaders have to do is allow a vote. They should not leave Washington without doing so."
President Bush, campaigning to lift the offshore drilling ban
What New York Times editors don’t seem to understand is that John McCain doesn’t base his positions on what the liberal media wants, but what he knows to be right for America."
Robert M. "Mike" Duncan
Shocking and graphic content funded by your tax dollars"Given the recent allegations against Planned Parenthood, one would think the organization would play it safe over the next few months and try to exercise some restraint. But the plan to stay under the media's radar is failing dismally in Oregon and Washington, where the local affiliate is making a full-scale assault on the morality of the states' young people.On its new website, TakeCareDownThere.org, the group posts a series of videos so revolting that members of my staff were visibly shaken...
This site is nothing more than an online playground for the prurient. The screen promises "the ins and outs about the ins and outs," but the material is highly inappropriate for adults, let alone young children. Sadly, most parents are unaware that garbage like this is targeting their kids, and even fewer realize that they're paying for it! The website is a project of Planned Parenthood of Columbia Willamette, a Title X grantee. This is exactly why FRC has prodded President Bush to change the government's Title X regulations. Each year, Planned Parenthood pockets more than $300 million of your tax dollars. One way to de-fund the group responsible for obscene material like this is to end the meshing of Title X "family planning" funds with abortion mills.Call the White House switchboard today at
202-456-1414
and ask President Bush to separate these funds before more children are caught up in Planned Parenthood's pornographic web."Tony Perkins
Family Research Council
A SONG FROM A SOLDIER IN IRAQThis 'soldier produced' video is different, moving and heartwarming.
If I Die Before You WakeTHIS IS TOO BEAUTIFUL NOT TO GO AROUND THE WORLD
May God bless all those who are fighting to prevent another 9-11
I want to break down foreign trade barriers, so that America's small businesses can compete abroad. When new trading partners can sell in our market, and American companies can sell in theirs, the gains are great and lasting. And as we expand markets for American products, we must do more tax reform here at home. I will propose and sign into law a reform to permit the first-year expensing of new equipment and technology. We're also going to keep the low rate on capital gains, so that businesses like yours can expand and create jobs instead of just sending more of your earnings to the government.
John McCain
"Vets for Freedom is sending eight Iraq war combat veterans "back to Iraq" to embed with U.S. combat units and assess the security and political situation on the ground. The media—-along with recent Iraq visitors—-have not sufficiently reported the gains on the ground...so we'll do it ourselves.We will return to the Iraqi cities where we once patrolled—-cities like Fallujah, Baqubah, Samarra, and Baghdad—-to provide a true "before and after" perspective and analyze the results of the surge, observe ongoing counterinsurgency operations, and examine future scenarios that might confront U.S. and Iraqi forces, as well as the Iraqi government. CLICK HERE FOR THE LIST OF EMBEDS AND WHERE THEY'LL BE
All eight Vets for Freedom members have received their media credentials through Blackfive, National Review Online or The Weekly Standard. And while in Iraq, we will provide regular updates through the above media organizations and at www.vetsforfreedom.org. We will be blogging daily, writing full-length pieces, shooting video footage, and reporting live from the ground.
Embeds will be meeting with U.S. and Iraqi military and civilian leaders, and will focus our analysis on determining the durability of recent gains, the potential consequences of a rapid American withdrawal, the proper "conditions-based" metrics needed to measure future force levels, the status of displaced Iraqis, and the prospects for the return of al Qaeda to Iraq, amongst other issues.CLICK HERE TO READ ALL FUTURE DISPATCHES FROM IRAQ
I'm honored to be heading back to Iraq with such an incredible group of vets. I also want to thank the corporations UnderArmour and Wiley-X for outfitting our group with the proper tactical clothing and eyewear, as well as North American Rescue for supplying us with medical supplies."
Moving out—-with 7 fellow vets—-to Draw Fire!Pete Hegseth
Chairman, Vets for Freedom
"I’ve said before that the Democrats are being controlled by the radical environmentalist movement, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has confirmed it. Yesterday Politico reported the following: “…after promising fairness and open debate, Pelosi has resorted to hard-nosed parliamentary devices that effectively bar any chance for Republicans to offer policy alternatives. ‘I’m trying to save the planet; I’m trying to save the planet,’ she says impatiently when questioned.”Polling clearly indicates that voters are fed up with high gas prices. If this election is going to be about “change,” it should be real change that will actually help the American people. First and foremost, we need to change our energy policy by ending the Democrat oil embargo against our economy and our wallets. But to do that, we must change the majority on Capitol Hill. And that’s exactly what Campaign for Working Families will do with your continued support! "
Gary Bauer
Campaign for Working Families
What if there was an online place where conservatives could not only share their views in a forum type format but also post video and have the ability to create groups and share ideas with other conservatives?
Well, there is.
It's called Eyeblast.tv, a new online site from the Media Research Center, where conservative citizen journalists can go to post video, meet one another and more importantly, discuss the issues that matter most to them -- all with NO liberal slant or censorship that is experienced on other sites.
Visit, create a profile and then tell all your friends and family about it.
Don't wait, become a part of Eyeblast.tv today!
Click here to hear about the media's out-of-control lovefest with Barack Obama.
"The Global Poverty Act of 2007 (S.2433) is coming up for a Senate vote... according the office of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. Once Harry Reid and the Democrat leadership put it on the calendar, we could have as little as a week to prepare for the vote." - Lee Cary, The American Thinker
"Rumors have been circulating around Capitol Hill that a few activist groups have renewed their surge and have begun lobbying full force for a bill introduced by presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). The bill has already passed out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee without any public hearings, and it also passed the House earlier this year. It is important to note that both of these votes were 'voice votes,' which was a deliberate strategy of the congressional majority so that no record would be kept of those who voted in favor of this problematic bill."
"While Senator Barack Obama struggles to keep the public in the dark about the nature of his pro-U.N. Global Poverty Act, a recent 'Bay Area Interfaith Leaders' Luncheon' was held to lobby for Senate passage of the bill, whose cost has been estimated at $845 billion..."
"Meanwhile, a concerned parent alerted us to the fact that a Christian preschool in Long Island, New York was handing out a coloring page for children which included a plea for Congress to pass Obama's Global Poverty Act. 'Dear Parents,' said the letter that was sent home. 'We would like to join efforts with the congregation of St. David's to stop world hunger. You and your child can help by coloring and signing the enclosed sheet. This sheet will be sent along with many others to our representatives in Washington....
"The [enclosed] sheet said 'Dear Senator: At Preschool, I learned to thank God for the food I eat. I also collect coins to help those who don't have enough. Today, I ask you to help, too, with more and better aid for the world's poorest countries. We want Congress to pass the Global Poverty Act. Please cosponsor S. 2433. Thank you.' The child's name and age were supposed to be filled in.
"The pictures to be colored included what appeared to be an angel holding a bowl of food (with a Valentine heart on the robe and the bowl) and a basket with apples."
The National Federation of Republican Women would like to congratulate Rush Limbaugh on his 20 year anniversary! You have brought us years of broadcasting excellence, been the forefront of the conservative movement, and you have changed America for the better. Conservatism flourishes because of individuals like you. Thank you for championing the conservative cause and giving us the courage to stand up for our principles.
BLACK LEADERS SAY TOP-RANKING BLACK IN CONGRESS IS NOW HELPING TO DIRECT THE 'WAR ON THE POOR'
Civil rights, faith-based leaders attack new commission on blacks and climate change as "unholy alliance" of special interests waging the "war on the poor"
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 29, 2008) -- A coalition of African American, civil rights and faith-based leaders charged Tuesday that “an unholy alliance” of environmental extremists and left-wing politicians are behind a new commission to engage blacks in the climate change issue, and they challenged the top-ranking black in Congress -- U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) -- to debate and defend policies that are raising energy prices and discriminating against minorities.
At a news conference in Washington, D.C. today, representatives from more than a dozen organizations and churches from coast-to-coast attacked the formation of the "Commission to Engage African Americans on Climate Change" by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Information on that development is here.
"Forming a commission to engage blacks in climate change is patronizing and insulting," said Niger Innis, National Spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality and a co-chairman of the national Alliance to Stop the War on the Poor (http://www.stopwaronpoor). "This is little more than a sham effort by environmental extremists to convince politicians that black Americans actually want policies forced on them that will raise energy prices and reduce our standard of living."
"Our community doesn't need a commission to tell us how we are being increasingly enslaved by high energy prices forced on us by extremist groups and politicians who actually want prices to rise," Innis said. "What we need are political leaders with the courage to fight against the economic terrorism that is being waged against us by those who are working to drive energy prices higher."
"Those on the left side of the political spectrum believe that high energy prices are a necessary tool to force Americans to conserve and adopt a lower standard of living," said Bishop Harry Jackson, head of the High Impact Leadership Coalition and co-chair of the Alliance to Stop the War on the Poor. "This is an ethically challenged, immoral public policy position. It is the major driver of the current 'War on the Poor.' And those who preach this type of policy are truly the Punishers of the Poor."
The two black leaders issued a public challenge to Rep. Clyburn, the senior ranking black in the U.S. Congress, to debate in a public forum the issue of how minorities are being hurt by energy and climate change policies coming from Washington, D.C. and various state capitols.
"I am personally outraged that the senior ranking black Member of the Congress would have anything to do with those extremists who are waging this war on America's poor," Bishop Jackson added. "Rep. Clyburn knows better. But he clearly has bought into the arguments of the environmental extremist community. In doing so, he has effectively signed on to help direct the war on the poor. He is clearly out of touch with the real concerns of real people in the African American community. I hope he will agree to debate this issue with us, because it very badly needs a public airing."
Among those speaking at Tuesday's press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. were the following:
"There is a war of economic terrorism being waged right now by an unholy alliance of extremist groups and left-wing politicians against low-income families and people of color," Innis said. "It is a war fueled by high energy prices. It is a war waged by those who want and support higher energy prices. It is a war that targets the most innocent and disadvantaged citizens of our nation. And it is an unjust and immoral war that must be stopped."
"America has the energy resources to move to true energy independence and begin to reverse our current dependence on foreign oil,” said Democratic State Senator Bill Vasey, Chairman of the non-profit Americans for American Energy. “But inaction by Congress and a stream of lawsuits from environmental extremists are stopping us cold. If projects like offshore oil drilling, ANWR, the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, the Roan Plateau in Colorado and other areas could move forward, we would see downward pressure on crude oil markets. Just the announcement of a decision to move forward on these projects would be received favorably by futures markets and serve to help lower prices to consumers."
“The left says that African Americans need to be 'engaged' in the debate over climate change solutions," Innis said. "This is both patronizing and insulting. African Americans are already engaged in this debate because we and other minority populations are already suffering economically at the hands of those with climate change 'solutions.' We don’t need a 'Commission to Engage African Americans in Climate Change.' We need political leaders who can disengage and protect our folk from the economic terrorism that is being waged against them by those who want to punish the American people with higher energy prices and a lower standard of living."
"Those on the left say that we must take radical action to address catastrophic climate change, because such catastrophic climate change will hurt poor and disadvantaged peoples more than any other population segment," Bishop Jackson said. "Regardless of what one thinks of catastrophic climate change over the science of future climate change, the impacts of so-called ‘climate change solutions’ are hurting poor and disadvantaged people right here, right now. We should be concerned as a nation on the economic devastation caused to today’s poor, not the theoretic harm predicted by a few computer models trying to tells us what the weather is going to be like 100 years from now."
The group advocated for passage of legislation such as the Americans for American Energy Act (H.R. 6384), which will encourage more production of American energy from all sources, including renewables, clean coal, oil and gas, and nuclear energy. They also called for greater energy efficiency and conservation measures – especially with regards to more energy saving insulation in affordable housing construction – and increased funding for low-income energy assistance and weatherization programs.
Incredibly, the 354-word article did not once mention the mayor's political affiliations. Kilpatrick, who pulled a Clinton and is charged with perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice in regard to a civil trial last year, is a Democrat.
It's almost a given that if a Republican mayor of a major city had attacked a police detective serving a subpoena, it would have replaced at least one of the front page stories (quilting for area shelters, blasts in India, variable speed limits, or residential beer deliveries) with lurid details and the word Republican in at least every other paragraph.
More confounding was a commentary on page B5 from the president of the local NAACP concerning black-on-black crime. At first glance, the author appears to be abandoning the notion of victimization when he states that, "this is our problem. Others can help but we must do the heavy lifting." He seems to be embracing the concept of individual responsibility so eloquently stated by Bill Cosby.
Unfortunately, the solution sought is more of the same old liberal, big government social engineering, as if there are no social programs currently available. And, of course, the scale of these vague, miraculous programs must be "large." On a more positive note, a plea is made for buffers and cultural structures which may be an unintentional recognition of the importance of traditional families in providing the framework for a civil society.
Disappointment… Virginia’s Harriet Miers
Last week the Administration nominated a Democrat to the bench in the Eastern District of Virginia (in Alexandria). His name is Anthony Trenga, and he was chosen from a list of names put forward by John Warner and Jim Webb. I realize that we have a bad hand to deal with now that Jim Webb is in the Senate, but why completely capitulate and nominate a Democrat unless you're going to get something for it, like getting one of our 4th Circuit nominees confirmed? The Democrats have let those nominations languish virtually indefinitely.
This is a betrayal of grassroots Republicans in Washington (again). The White House can withdraw this nomination. I would ask each of you to call and/or email the White House and ask them to pull this nomination, or at least to get some 4th Circuit appointments for it. This is a lifetime appointment! Judges are too important to let this pass.
Here is the contact info for the White House: 202-456-1111 and Comments@WhiteHouse.gov.
After you send your (strongly worded) comments to the White House, please pass this along to other friends that care about judges (any conservative or Republican, I would hope) and ask them to join you in this protest. Federal Judges are too important to roll over like this!
Senator Ken Cuccinelli
Virginia 37th District
Pelosi and Reid aren't simply out to lunch; nor are they simply proposing "solutions" that make no sense whatsoever and will do NOTHING to lower the price of gasoline at the pump.
In actuality, they are actively blocking the ONE THING that will help lower the price at the pump and bring relief to millions of Americans; namely, lifting the congressional moratorium on offshore drilling.
Pelosi even went so far as to call drilling domestically "a complete hoax."
Essentially, Reid and Pelosi are saying. 'No drilling in Alaska. No drilling offshore. No drilling wherever oil can be found.' As for those who can't afford gas or food: 'Let them ride bicycles.'According to the Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill, an unnamed Democrat confided that the REAL Democrat energy strategy is "driving small cars and waiting for the wind."
But in actuality, Reid and Pelosi's energy strategy can be summed up in one word: SOCIALISM!
Reid and Pelosi's energy policy appears to be consistent with the increasingly overt Socialism that they believe is the answer to all of our nation's problems: 'Why not just turn our lives over to government and be done with it?'
Obviously, whether it's energy or health care, some Members of Congress want government to either control or outright own the means of production. They're no longer hiding their intentions!
Why do liberals keep telling us that it will take "10 years" to recover and bring significant amounts of domestic oil to market (which, by the way, according to some is a high estimate)?
And then, in the same breath, advocate so-called alternative energy "solutions" even though (in many cases) no one has any idea how long it would take to bring these solutions to market or if they'll even be affordable.
Why do liberal legislators prohibit us from drilling where we know there IS oil unless the oil companies agree to drill where there IS NOT oil (or it's simply cost prohibitive to recover)?
And finally, why are Pelosi and Reid pointing fingers at everyone else even though gasoline prices have doubled since the Pelosi-Reid gang took control of Congress?
And why are they proposing so-called solutions that will only compound our problems?
But Reid and Pelosi aren't really trying to find a "silver bullet to fix it."
It really is about "Socializing" and "Nationalizing" and "driving small cars and waiting for the wind."
That's NOT the American way!
Jeff Mazzellawww.cfif.org
President
Madison County GOP BBQ, July 26, 2008
Why Europe Loves Obama
Front pages of newspapers all over America have the same photo this morning – hundreds of thousands of Berliners cheering President Barack Obama. Yes, I realize I wrote “President” and not “Senator.” But the election is just a formality, a mere detail to be “managed.”The media act as if he were president. The “world” wants him to be president. Obama himself thinks he is at least president, if not “King.” His staff certainly does. Believe it or not, this is what one of Obama’s top foreign policy advisors actually said this past Tuesday about the Berlin speech, “When the president of the United States goes and gives a speech, it is not a political speech or a political rally.” Surely you, the American voter, would not dare reject his candidacy in November. Don’t you understand your responsibility as a “citizen of the world” to fall in line behind what the world wants?
It is no surprise that Europeans love Obama. He thinks the same way the European left thinks. They look at him and see themselves. They are socialists and so is Obama. Many Europeans support abortion-on-demand and homosexual “marriage.” So does Obama. They believe resistance to radical Islam is futile, and thus appeasement is their policy. It is Obama’s policy too. They see America as the problem. Barack’s wife, Michelle, says we are a “mean” country. He apologized in his Berlin speech for America’s shortcomings. When President Bush bravely said there was an “axis of evil” that had to be confronted, Europe recoiled in horror. Obama says, “Citizens of the world – this is our moment.” I don’t even know what that sentence means!
We are “citizens of the world” only in the sense that we inhabit the same planet. But on this planet, free men must constantly defend their liberty from tyrants. That necessity won’t change even if Barack Obama becomes president of the United States, but it will be a lot harder to win if he pursues his leftwing policies.
By the way, Obama was too busy being a “citizen of the world” to spend a few minutes with our troops at U.S. military hospitals in Germany. His planned visits were abruptly canceled as “inappropriate for a campaign event.” But remember -- just three days ago, Obama’s top foreign policy advisor was insisting that the “president’s speech” was not a political rally!
The Wall Street Journal reminded us this morning that when my former boss Ronald Reagan went to Berlin and demanded, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” the German crowds were not as adoring as they were for Obama. It took 10,000 riot police to control 100,000 leftwing protestors who wanted to appease the communists. They were wrong and Ronald Reagan was right. Two years later the Berlin Wall came down and Obama was able this week to speak in a united Berlin. It’s too bad that neither he nor his admiring throng have learned anything about how to confront and defeat tyranny.
On a lighter note, and to start your weekend off with a laugh, I thought you might enjoy this satirical view of Obama’s world tour from the British media.
Gary Bauer
Campaign for Working Families
The American Energy Act: Supply Side SolutionsCongressman John Boehner of Ohio is set to introduce The American Energy Act, which will most importantly increase America's energy supplies. The bill calls for leasing regulations for offshore natural gas by 2010, removing restrictions for outer continental shelf drilling, and opening up sections of ANWR for drilling.
The Heritage Foundation's Senior Policy Analyst Ben Lieberman has been arguing this even when gas prices were around $1 a gallon. More energy supplies, not more taxes and regulations, are what this country needs. It's economics 101: expanding supply is the surest way to lower energy prices, and the quicker Congress moves to open up restricted areas, the quicker more resources will be available.
As my colleague Michael Franc writes, it is the first time in awhile House Republicans are leading the charge on producing more in America here at home. Now that gas prices are surpassing $5 a gallon in some states, consumer pressure is causing a number of Members to switch their stance on drilling. (more)
Nick Loris
Jim Gilmore's campaign tells the rest of the Car Tax story. One of the biggest misconceptions people seem to have about the Car Tax repeal is that it was some sort of budget buster. Nothing could be further from the truth. On the heals of the Associated Press’ own admission that Jim Gilmore left office with a balanced budget , we now present the following car tax facts:
After cutting the car tax by 70 percent so working families would have more of their money, Governor Gilmore left Mark Warner a balanced budget as required by law and more than $1 billion in the state's Rainy Day Fund. Claiming the state had a budget deficit, Mark Warner stopped the final phase of the car tax cut, increased taxes by a record amount and raided the Rainy Day Fund twice! Then only weeks later, Mark Warner disclosed the state actually had a surplus -- not a deficit as he had claimed.
At the time Governor Gilmore began the car tax cut it represented 2.5 percent of the total state budget -- not a high percentage of tax dollars to be returned to working families. Today the car tax cut represents only 1.3 percent of the total state budget -- so when Democrats claim that even today the car tax cut is still causing problems for the state budget they are incorrect. The problem is spending. The state budget has increased by $25 billion -- a 50 percent increase in the seven years of the Warner/Kaine administrations -- with no further tax relief.This election is about trust. Mark Warner is a big spendin, high tax opportunist, a say anything to get elected politician who broke his word repeatedly to the voters. Governor Gilmore kept his promises and is a straightforward and principled leader who has proven that he will do what he says he will do.
Democrats do love their nuances and Mark Warner is no exception. He keeps changing his positions depending on which way the wind is blowing, a point aptly illustrated by the Gilmore campaign.A Very Bad Day for Mark Warner, Part 2 (Debate Edition)
On the issue of trust, Mark ran into another set of annoying facts. Turns out that the entire time he was preaching economic doom and gloom as a justification for the largest tax hike in Virginia history, his own economic advisor was telling him otherwise.
Missed the debate? You can listen to it here.
I believe that the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms is a fundamental, individual Constitutional right that we have a sacred duty to protect. Gun control is a proven failure in fighting crime. Law abiding citizens should not be asked to give up their rights because of criminals - criminals who ignore gun control laws anyway.
Unfortunately my opponent, Senator Barack Obama, does not share our support for this fundamental right. Senator Obama has never been a friend to Second Amendment supporters. He has also said outright, that he "does not believe people should be able to own guns."And as important as the Supreme Court ruling is, it does not mark the end of our struggle against those who seek to limit the rights of law-abiding citizens, like Senator Barack Obama. That's why we must always remain vigilant in defense of our freedoms."
But, yesterday on the Senate floor, Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid proposed a massive piece of legislation titled “Advancing America’s Priorities.” If you think this is a good bill designed to reduce gas prices or make America energy independent, think again.
The bill is nearly 400 pages long. It contains three dozen spending bills that would create more than 30 new federal programs and calls for at least $11 billion in increased federal spending. Clearly, Harry Reid has his own priorities – like growing the government and spending more of your hard-earned tax dollars.
Thankfully, Senator Tom Coburn objected to the bill’s introduction. Senator Coburn is one of the best friends American taxpayers have on Capitol Hill. For months now, Senator Coburn has unapologetically held up more than 70 bills stuffed with special interest pork-barrel spending projects. Senator Coburn believes that every bill should be paid for by cutting spending elsewhere in the bloated federal bureaucracy.
If these bills were debated one at a time, Senator Coburn would likely succeed in demonstrating how frivolous much of this proposed spending is. (Remember the Bridge to Nowhere?) And that’s exactly why Harry Reid has bundled them together. As a package, the Senate leadership may succeed in steamrolling Senator Coburn and other fiscal conservatives. Keep in mind, my friends, what it says about the priorities of Senate Democrats that they have chosen in the final days of this month to debate more spending rather than solving our energy crisis before going on a month-long recess!
ACTION ITEM: If you believe your senators should put the principle of fiscal discipline ahead of pork-barrel spending, take action now by clicking this link to send a message to your senators urging them to oppose Harry Reid’s unnecessary spending.
Gary Bauer
Campaign for Working Families
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) Well, okay Senator, if it's such a non-issue, why don't you just go ahead and do your job - confirm those judges!
Thank Eric Cantor for Co-Sponsoring the Broadcaster Freedom Act!Representative Eric Cantor, Virginia's 7th District
202-225-2815
And tell Queen Nancy that Americans won't allow her to squelch free speech!"From television to print, liberals control the media—with one exception, radio. Not content with their near monopoly,
liberals are moving to silence Rush, Sean, and other conservative leaders through the “Fairness Doctrine”—government censorship of the airwaves!
If left unchallenged, liberals will effectively stifle the conservative voice--paving the way for their radical agenda of ideas and philosophies.
One bill, The Broadcaster Freedom Act could permanently end the threat of government censorship - but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has no desire to move it to the floor for a vote, and in fact has said she supports reviving the “Fairness Doctrine.” It is outrageous that a government official supports stripping away our Free Speech Rights!"
Media Research Center
"It's pretty obvious that the media has a bizarre fascination with Barack Obama. Some may even say it's a love affair. We want you to be the judge. We've compiled two videos of the more outrageous moments of this not so secret love affair. Follow this link to watch the two videos and vote on which one you think is better. Your vote will determine which video we put on the air.The media is in love with Barack Obama. If it wasn't so serious, it would be funny."
Regards,
The McCain Campaign
Advocates for poor to unmask politicians and enviro groups who are waging "War On The Poor"
More than 100 state and federal elected officials and 50 environmental groups targeted for "public outing," leaders say
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 22, 2008) – Leaders from the civil rights, African American, evangelical, agriculture and consumer advocacy communities have launched a national campaign to publicly unmask more than 100 politicians and 50 environmental extremist groups that are waging an immoral "war on the poor" by pushing policies that limit America’s ability to produce more America energy and drive energy prices skyward.
The coalition also will press for immediate action by Congress on any of several pending bills, including the "Americans for American Energy Act," (H.R. 6834), the "Gas Price Reduction Act (S. 3202) and the soon-to-be-introduced "All Of The Above Act of 2008" in the U.S. House.
The coalition's campaign is centered on the group's new website, stopwaronpoor.org, where two decks of "Punishers of the Poor" playing cards are scheduled to be unveiled soon. The playing cards will each feature a politician who has been named a "Punisher of the Poor" by the coalition's leaders.
The national campaign was officially launched at a protest rally last week on Capitol Hill where more than a dozen speakers spoke to a crowd of nearly 100 families and advocates for the poor protested with signs and chants of "Stop the War on the Poor" before a phalanx of news media cameras, Congressional staffers and others. Full-length video and photos from the protest rally are available here.
"Environmental extremists, and the politicians who do their bidding, are strangling consumers, minorities and the working poor by restricting our ability to produce enough American energy and forcing energy prices to go through the roof," said Niger Innis, National Spokesman of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a key organizer of the Capitol Hill protest and co-chairman of the national "Stop The War On The Poor" campaign.
"The ever-increasing energy prices driven by anti-consumer politicians are nothing more than a highly regressive tax on America’s most vulnerable citizens," Innis added. "Our ‘Stop The War On The Poor’ campaign has targeted 100 specific politicians and 50 environmental extremist groups from across the nation that will be unmasked as the ‘generals, colonels, majors and captains’ who are waging this unprecedented war on the poor."
"I'm a Democrat who is committed to seeing elected officials from all political parties wake up to the realities of what our national energy policies are doing to the poor and to our nation's fundamental national security," said Wyoming State Senator Bill Vasey (D), Chair of Americans for American Energy. "The cold hard fact is that we need more American energy from all American resources, and we need to encourage the private sector to develop and deploy new clean energy technologies as well."
"How can Congress justify imposing crushing, highly regressive taxes upon the most needy in our society,’ asked Bishop Harry Jackson, co-chairman of the "Stop the War on the Poor" campaign. "We are here to say enough is enough. The real poor are going without essentials. When you push up energy prices everyone suffers and the first to suffer are the poor".
"This is a moral and ethics issue and we need to remind politicians in Washington, DC just how grave the consequences are of failed energy policies," Jackson added. "These policies are destroying jobs, reducing people's living standards and trampling basic civil rights. They can no longer be tolerated."
"It is a sad but undeniable fact that higher energy prices hurt the poor more than any other sector of our society. Median-income families devote about a nickel on every dollar of income to energy costs, while poor families must devote as much as 50 cents on their dollar. Studies show that high energy prices are one of the single biggest drivers of homelessness. And high energy prices are literally forcing millions of Americans to make horrible choices between food, fuel and medicine," Innis said.
"Environmental extremists actually want higher prices because it gives them power to force changes in people’s behavior," Innis said. "They call this ‘energy conservation.’ I call it ‘economic enslavement.’ It is immoral, it is wrong, and those who support these policies will be unmasked for what they are – strategists and leaders in the war on the poor."
Innis, who is active in Republican political circles, and Bishop Jackson, who is a registered Democrat, said that the national campaign will be active in all 50 states and will mount "an aggressive public education campaign that will shine the spotlight on all those who are waging this war, regardless of the political party affiliation or philosophy."
"I am a registered Democrat, but this has nothing to do with partisan politics," said Bishop Harry Jackson, head of the High Impact Leadership Coalition. "Unless the public understands that there are specific people and organizations that are fueling this war against the poor, nothing will change and the poor will continue to suffer. We will unmask those behind this war regardless of their political party or ideology."
"Party labels and partisan ideologies are meaningless when it comes to protecting the lives of America’s most vulnerable citizens," Bishop Jackson added. "Only by encouraging truly bipartisan action will our nation be able to adequately construct solutions to this problem."
StopWarOnPoor.org
Democratic Congress is Playing Partisan Politics
There is a disturbing trend with regard to the slow pace of the Senate's consideration of judicial nominees. Although many of the nominees have received a well-qualified ranking from the American Bar Association, they have been denied a fair up-or-down vote.We are seeing partisan politics in action which is a great disservice both to the nominees and to the American public. No other President in the history of our great nation has had to experience this kind of inaction - especially when the courts are so important to the citizens of our country. It is also unfair to those who are waiting to see what they will be expected to do.
While the overall confirmation of these conservative nominees is important, the confirmation of conservative jurists to the D.C. and Fourth Circuits is imperative because both courts have great impact on national policy. Now, before the elections, it is important that all points of view are in the court system - that is democracy in action in America.
We have one court - the Ninth Circuit - which is dominated by ultra liberal justices and is very undemocratic.
Now the Fourth Circuit Court has a 5-5 split between Republican appointees and Democrat appointees. One third of the seats are now vacant. There is a need for the nominees for this court to be voted on this year. President Bush has been allowed only 6 circuit judges and 34 district court judges. In the final two years of the Clinton Administration, the Senate confirmed 15 circuit judges and 57 district court judges. President Bush was reelected by a majority vote in the 2004 election. What is the Senate prepared to do? The people are watching. These are the people's courts.
If the Senate Judicial Committee continues to ignore this important obligation, they will be exposed to the nation as having been derelict in their duty. We are calling for immediate action now before the November 4th election. Not to conduct an up-or-down vote now will have repercussions. Americans are fair and square people.
By Mary Lou Terra
"When this Congress began, the Majority Leader and I agreed that the partisanship in the judicial nominations process was unhealthy, and we said that this Congress would be different. The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post acknowledged the President did his part to get the process off to a good start. They, and many others, complimented his good faith in not resubmitting circuit court nominees who some Democratic colleagues did not like.
"The Majority Leader, himself, said how much he appreciated the President's good faith. He said, 'I personally want the record to reflect that I appreciate the President not sending back four names that were really controversial.'
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