Politics Blog

Apparently, that is the case. Democrat Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, who once threatened to punch President Bush, literally; is up for reelection this year and thanks to support from the GOP, will likely hold the seat:

After barely winning her initial Senate race in 1996 and surviving a serious challenge in 2002, Republican strategists targeted U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu as the most vulnerable Senate Democrat in this fall’s election. Unfortunately for Republicans defeating Landrieu will not be an easy task. Just look at what she has done in recent weeks in lining up endorsements from a most unusual group, Northshore Republicans.

Several months ago, GOP St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis surprised many political observers by endorsing Landrieu. Davis cited his close working relationship with Landrieu after Katrina. Landrieu’s efforts to assist the recovery after Katrina were also highlighted by a number of other Northshore Republican leaders who endorsed Landrieu last week. Joining Davis in crossing the party aisle were Hammond Mayor Mayson Foster, Covington Mayor Candace Watkins, and St. Tammany Parish Assessor Patricia Schwartz Core.

Even with this strange set of circumstances, it is not a slam dunk for Landrieu:

Despite her advantages, Landrieu does face some serious challenges which may make her vulnerable in the fall election. Most significantly, Louisiana has experienced an outward migration of approximately 250,000 people due to the hurricanes and the majority of the displaced voters were registered Democrats and likely Landrieu supporters. In 1996 and 2002, Landrieu had very slim margins of victory. To win this fall, she will have to convince some people who voted against her previously to cast a ballot for her this time.

Opposing Landrieu will be State Treasurer John Kennedy, a newly registered Republican, who has done a remarkable job of galvanizing GOP support. Kennedy has been very persistent in courting the GOP establishment both in Louisiana and in Washington D.C. At present he is the only Republican in the race, although Secretary of State Jay Dardenne has not ruled out the possibility of challenging Kennedy in the GOP primary. Dardenne could also count on significant party support if he entered the race.

This is very odd to say the least, of course, it is not that uncommon for someone from one party to jump over to the other side during a contest, but this many? The tragedy of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath certainly made for some strange alliances that carried these many years later.

– ‘The Commish’ A.J. Sparxx

The fight is not over yet for Ron Paul and his supporters. Even after failing in his run for the the presidential nomination, he continues to stand upfor what he believes in and for the Constitution.

His supporters have taken the battle to the County Convention level and will try to make sure that the Paul message is represented at various State Conventions when the Party’s agenda is discussed:

FORT WORTH – Ron Paul supporters fought with local Republican leaders Saturday over control of local conventions and may have won the right to push their agenda at the state GOP convention.

Supporters of Paul, a congressman from Surfside who got 4.5 percent of the votes in the presidential primary, tried to overwhelm the senate district-level conventions by sheer numbers. The party regulars, aware that Paul’s supporters won a similar campaign in Missouri, brought in extra troops of their own.

The two largest conventions in Tarrant County were still nominating their delegates at 9 p.m., and it may be days before the full effect is known.

“This is not unique to Dallas/Fort Worth; it’s happening all over the state,” said Stephanie Klick, Tarrant County Republican chairwoman.

Paul’s supporters oppose GOP presidential nominee John McCain and want to push the party toward Paul’s brand of conservatism, including reining in federal spending, ending the Iraq war and abolishing the Federal Reserve and other government agencies. Any delegates to the state convention will be required to support McCain, but they could still vote for changes in the state party platform.

After everything was said and done, Ron Paul’s message will be heard:

Convention Chairman Tom Quinones worked out a deal to give the Paul camp delegates based on their numbers.

Chad Bishop, a Paul delegate, gave a speech seconding Quinones’ nomination, saying the district’s “conservative heritage is not lost on us.”

Quinones said later, “I think the Ron Paul delegates will be well-represented on our state delegation list.”

And of course the establishment just doesn’t get it when it comes to Ron Paul and his supporters:

In Senate District 10, Paul supporter Jeremy Blosser challenged longtime Republican organizer Stuart Lane for chairmanship of the convention.

Blosser bristled at Lane’s characterization of Paul’s supporters as “outsiders bent on taking over the party.”

Blosser said: “We are Republicans. I don’t know how you take over something you’re already part of.”

Lane won the election by 2-to-1, but it took hours to count the votes, and the convention still bogged down with debate over the platform.

“Did we accomplish something today? We’re here, and we stood up for ourselves,” Blosser said.

I say good for them, good for Ron Paul, good for his message and good for the Constitution!

– ‘The Commish’ A.J. Sparxx

Last week it was former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly. Now it’s a NFL coach.

Sam Wyche, coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Cincinnati Bengals, who made it to the Super Bowl in 1989, has been drafted himself into politics by the GOP:

PICKENS COUNTY — Former NFL football coach Sam Wyche has joined the race for the District 3 seat on the Pickens County Council against Council Vice Chairman Ben Trotter.

Mr. Wyche joined the race Saturday morning, according to Pickens County Republican Party Chairman Phillip Bowers.

“He will be on the (primary) ballot in June,” Mr. Bowers said.

Mr. Wyche said a number of people approached him to consider running.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of months now,” he said.

Mr. Wyche was the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals from 1984-1991 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1992-1995. He led the Bengals to the Super Bowl in 1989. He also is the owner of sporting goods retailer Sam Wyche Sports World.

While he has never been involved in politics before, he said he feels his business background and the experience he garnered while playing and coaching in the NFL will be an asset to him.

“I’ll bring a perspective of someone who has traveled and has been lucky enough to live in a lot of parts of the country,” Mr. Wyche said. “I feel like I can contribute.”

Mr. Trotter and Mr. Wyche were the only Republicans to have filed as candidates for the District 3 seat as of Saturday evening. The Pickens County Democratic Party could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday.

Based on how this article was written, it appears he is going to be a primary challenger to a incumbent Republican. It’s good to see these athletes get into politics, certainly, there day to day dealings with the press and mass amount of people is a step in the right direction in at least being a candidate with a pulse. Now, they need to work on their issues and platform.

– ‘The Commish’ A.J. Sparxx

John Hawkins asks six conservative women about dating.

— PoliPundit

From President-in-waiting to deadbeat:

Hillary Rodham Clinton’s cash-strapped presidential campaign has been putting off paying hundreds of bills for months — freeing up cash for critical media buys but also earning the campaign a reputation as something of a deadbeat in some small-business circles.

A pair of Ohio companies owed more than $25,000 by Clinton for staging events for her campaign are warning others in the tight-knit event production community — and anyone else who will listen — to get their cash upfront when doing business with her. Her campaign, say representatives of the two companies, has stopped returning phone calls and e-mails seeking payment of outstanding invoices. One even got no response from a certified letter.

Maybe her campaign manager learned some tricks as director of a failed subprime lender.

— W.C. Varones

From the Wall Street Journal:

Now comes the euphoria, the liberation, the freedom of . . . Bosnian snipers! Suddenly, liberals all over are remembering that they never really liked the Clintons, even as they defended them in the 1990s. Suddenly, they can sidle into a discussion about Mrs. Clinton’s ethics, and all on a subject that (bonus!) is relevant to today’s race. Suddenly, they can break free of the Clintons, much as New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson did earlier this week, with a look of ecstasy, as he ran toward the daylight and endorsed Mr. Obama.

Which is why it is no surprise that this week also saw the beginning of a tide of Democrats, many of them one-time Clinton defenders, calling on her to abandon her bid, laying out the reasons for why she cannot win this race, and telling her to let go for the good of the party. Mrs. Clinton, being a Clinton, may well ignore them. But what is clear is that questions about her character and honesty are no longer verboten. If she does stay in, answering them will become the new reality of her campaign.

Ding-dong, the witch is dead. Liberal munchkins everywhere, rejoice!

Kind of reminds me of that great independent pro-Obama ad from the beginning of the campaign.

HT: Perfunction, whatever that is.

— W.C. Varones

Angela Merkel is more of a man than George Bush ever will be.

Merkel says she will not attend opening of Beijing Olympics.

I’m sure that, like most German people, Angela Merkel has starred in scheisse porn videos in her youth, and that Chinese agents will try to blackmail her with the tapes. But she won’t buckle. That’s what kind of man she is.

— W.C. Varones

During the debates over the various immigration amnesties that have been bandied about over the last few years, my reaction each time was one of anger, even rage. Everytime John McCain, Ted Kennedy, or one of their co-conspirators bandied about the latest “compromise” proposal, I reacted with anger.

Is anger a rational, reasonable reaction to a bad proposal? It turns out that it absolutely is! Go to about 3:28 into this video, and you’ll see what I mean.

— PoliPundit

As the move further away from Republican principles and closer to the left continues for the Governor of California, Schwarzenegger has now taken up the cause of protecting services in the CA budget that benefit Illegals, as the State faces an 8 BILLION DOLLAR budget gap:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called it a “big mistake” Wednesday to blame illegal immigrants for the state’s looming $8 billion budget gap, just as Republican lawmakers have proposed a rollback of benefits for illegal immigrants to save money.

The Republican governor was pitching his long-term budget solution in San Luis Obispo when Diane Blakeslee, mother of GOP Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, asked Schwarzenegger how the state should handle financial burdens created by illegal immigrants.

“There is, you know, always a time like this where you start pointing the finger at various different elements of what creates the budget mess, and, you know, some may point the finger at illegal immigrants,” Schwarzenegger said. “I can guarantee you, I have been now four years in office in Sacramento, I don’t think that illegal immigration has created the mess that we are in.”

Sounds to me that the Governor, as hospitals are struggling to survive and in some cases shutting their doors and budget items give illegal immigrants in-state and sometimes college tuition, while Americans pick up the freight for them and their kids pay higher prices, refuses to recognize the problem at hand, even though the solutions offered by Republicans make sense:

Assembly Republicans this week promoted nearly two dozen bills they said would reduce the “negative impact” that illegal immigrants have on the state budget and border security. The proposals range from requiring individuals to show proof of citizenship when receiving state-funded benefits to repealing a law enabling undocumented students to pay in-state college tuition.

“There’s a cost associated with illegal immigration whether we’re in a deficit mode or not,” said Assemblyman Ted Gaines, R-Roseville. “I think it just becomes more (significant) when we’re in a deficit mode and we’re having to make tough cuts across the board in education and health and human services. Those should be provided to the citizens of this country and people who came to this country legally.”

The Democrats and the Governor have a different take on things, it appears:

Legislative Democrats have vowed to block the GOP legislative package and accused Republicans of using illegal immigrants as scapegoats.

“Frankly, they’re wrong,” said Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles. “The fact of the matter is, immigrants have a positive impact on the economy and the budget, and they’re essential to California’s prosperity. We can’t have a prosperous future without immigrant workers.”

I am still waiting to see somewhere how ILLEGAL immigration is a benefit and has a positive impact on anything, nevermind the economy or the budget. As one citizen put it:

“This doesn’t really have to do with discrimination or anything,” said Blakeslee, a certified financial planner. “It’s a matter of respect for the law. … We’re sacrificing our own kids to take care of people who don’t believe in following the law.”

She is 100% right, we are sacrificing our own kids to subsidize lawbreakers. That is the bottom line.

– ‘The Commish’ A.J. Sparxx

Joining 5 other States, one of them being my home state of New Jersey, the Florida Legislature has issued a resolution officially apologizing for slavery:

TALLAHASSEE - In a watershed moment in Florida’s race relations, a solemn state Legislature on Wednesday apologized for the Florida’s long history of slavery, expressing “profound regret for the shameful chapter in this state’s history.”

Described as a bid for “reconciliation and healing,” the House this afternoon passed a resolution apologizing for state slavery laws dating back to 1822 – decades became Florida even became a state – that “perpetuated African slavery in one of its most brutal and dehumanizing forms.”

Earlier, the Senate passed the same resolution with Gov. Charlie Crist looking on.

Governor Charlie Crist, a possible candidate to run as McCain’s VP, offered to go one step further:

At the Capitol, Crist initially said that while the apology was important, the state should consider offering financial reparations to descendants of slaves. But he quickly backed away from that stance.

“Certainly it’s something you’d like to be able to do,” Crist said. “Obviously, in a difficult budgetary time, it’s a challenging thing. But I just want to focus on the good thing that has happened today…It’s a significant step.”

I don’t understand why these resolutions are necessary, no one denies the wrongful practice of slavery, but most Americans can not trace their ancestry back that far, and for those that could, may have been against slavery to begin with, so what do these resolutions do, other than setting up the right ammunition to one day challenge the Country for reparations, using these resolutions as accepting blame and offering apologies on behalf of people 150 years ago.

– ‘The Commish’ A.J. Sparxx