ledeagenda.com

 

Looking over the political horizon, when all of the current political issues have been solved, what does the world look like for you? Does anyone around you, especially the politicians, represent you, your views, your solutions to the pressing issues of the day?

Looking over the horizon what do you see?

Do you see private industries being nationalized by taxpayer bailouts, ala Fannie Mae, hospitals, medical care and the airline industry?  I don’t.

Do you see an America where illegals are granted amnesty and where private property can be taken to increase property tax revenue? I don’t.

Do you see an America where political correctness mandates that you “green” your home, share space on your personal blog with someone who attacks you, or holds your faith or nation as equal with someone who wants to destroy your culture and nation? I don’t.

What about the concept of self-governance?

Do you see a nation returning to its constitutional roots and mandating strict limitations on the size, scope and authority of the government?

Do you see a growth of personal liberty and responsibility, the right to succeed (or fail) of one’s own  pursuits?

 Do you see our national debt eliminated?

Do you see our economy strong and wages growing?

Do you see taxes low and regulations less burdensome?

What about the nanny state? Do you see welfare, Medicare, Medicaid, the new prescription drug benefit, government backed mortgages and corporate tax subsidies still existing?

Do you see an America where you don’t feel as if you need a shower shortly after exiting the voting booth?

Its time for another revolution in this country.

Gleefully I write this post. The Republican party is finally listening to its constituency. House speaker Nancy Pelosi has adjourned congress without addressing the most pressing and immediate need of the nation: addressing oil costs.

As I have previously addressed in prior posts, the rising cost of gasoline is a bright ray of sunshine in an otherwise cloudy election year. This issue alone will carry Republicans, even that loser McCain (if he gets on board, yeah right), to a November victory.  There is no other issue that needs to be addressed openly, just have solid, well rounded policy preferences for all current issues. As long as you favor a “Drill here, Drill now” theme, you will be meeting the demands of the public.

Republicans are listening to you.

The Democrats have shut off the lights and fled Washington like cockroaches under the harsh light of public opinion. They know they are wrong on this issue.

Even Nancy Pelosi herself is telling her colleagues to get behind domestic energy production. Funny how she will “allow” her colleagues in the House to run in favor of an issue that they have consistently opposed through this whole energy crises. Sure Nancy, now it’s ok to be pro-oil now that Congress is in recess and you don’t actually have to cast the votes in favor of domestic oil production.

Newt Gingrich is telling Republicans to be prepared to take on this fight as long as necessary, even if it means shutting down government by holding up next years budget, due for renewal by September 30th.

So what do we need to do? Write our Representatives, demand that they support:

1) Open ANWAR to domestic oil drilling.

2) Greatly reduce or eliminate environmental regulations that inhibit drilling on current land-leases held for oil exploration.

3) Calling for a special session of Congress to address the current energy crises.

4) Reducing the taxes on oil, both federal gas taxes and corporate income taxes.

5) Developing a comprehensive energy policy for the future, including the implementation of alternative energy markets such as electric, natural gas or hydrogen fuel cell technology.

6) Be willing to take this fight on as long as possible until its addressed, even if it means shutting down the Government by holding up spending bills.

There is no time to waste on this issue. We cannot allow political chess matches to interfere with the real threat that high energy costs pose to the economy. If politicians had their way, they would use this issue to run on for the next 15-20 years with no progress made. We cannot allow them to get off the hook so easy. Too many families in America are hurting, and hurting badly, as a result of this crises. Should this become a partisan wedge issue we can all but be assured that the hyper-inflation that you see now all around you,-food, clothing, entertainment- will continue. Is that a future that you a prepared to deal with?

Call your congressman today. Demand they “Drill Here, Drill Now”.

---

UPDATE 4:18 PMEven “green” Al Gore, in total hyprocisy to his “global warming” agenda is gearing up to profit from oil extraction technology, as reported on Newsbusters.com.

Let me start this post out with a caveat: I am not anti-profit, In fact it’s a man’s right to grow a business for his own gain, irrespective of good will toward others. I do not think we ‘owe’ anyone anything else by the mere fact of our existence. Ayn Rand’s, “Atlas Shrugged” is a pinnacle of my economic and tax beliefs.

But, and you all knew this was coming, I couldn’t help but seethe with rage at a headline on CNN this morning:

Exxon Posts Record $11.68 Billion Profit

And then on Drudge:

Shell Reports 33% Rise In Profit (that would be $11.56 Billion, btw…)

Eni and Repsol also have gotten profits in the billions.

So let me ask this, do you really think that supply and demand created a market for $4 a gallon gas? I find that extremely hard to believe, almost incredulous, that at a time when roughly 5-7% of the mortgages in the United States are in default, at a time when personal consumer debt has never been higher, at a time when inflation is affecting food costs beyond most families’ ability to control the budget, that a market would be created for over consumption of fuel.

So, pardon my french, but what the hell is going on here?

Two more headlines to consider:

CNN.com: Oil Demand Drops, But Don’t Expect Crude Prices To Fall

And then, probably the most important headline of all of them in today’s post:

USAToday.com: Devaluation Of Dollar Influences Oil Price

In other words, our nation’s debt is causing our domestic inflation because our dollar can purchase less goods in the global market. Makes you just feel all peachy-keen wonderful about our nation borrowing money from China to pay for the war in Iraq, the economic stimulus and most recently the federal mortgage bailout bill. Shoring up the strength of our domestic economy, not trade from foreign nations, is the only way we can get our of this mess. Until then, enjoy paying $4 for gas and $5 for a loaf of bread.

File this under Roadmap 2008. 

John McCain pisses me off.

There, I said it. Whether its embracing the liberal agenda on open boarders, environmental policy or campaign finance reform, this guys seems all to willing to go in the direction that the government/media complex would take us.

On at least on issue however, McCain’s mind has been changed by the sheer weight of popular and conservative opinion. At that, in itself, is a win.

CNN.com: McCain wants to lift ban on offshore drilling

Quite simply this is a breath of fresh air from this guy. I was certain he was going to come out and give some sort of politician weasel speak about the environment, not being effective to reduce oil prices and how it would take ten years to bring the oil stations on line. In other words, all the same old anti-energy lies that currently take precedence in our public policy.

But McCain didn’t say that. He knows that this issue alone could continue to tip the electoral winds in his favor.

WSJ.com notes energy policy is at the top of Americans mindsets this election:

A recent Gallup poll shows 57% of Americans support opening up new territories to drilling, while a Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll conducted this month shows 59% of Americans saying Congress should take the lead on responding to high gas prices.

This is an issue that can almost single-handedly turn the GOP prospects for a November victory around. Republicans need to rally around the issue of energy independence, lowering oil prices and cutting excessive regulations on the oil and gasoline industry. Most importantly, Republicans need to demand domestic oil drilling. Additionally, the Republican House leadership needs to investigate claims by the Democrats that oil companies are not currently drilling on 68 million acres of publicly leased land.

I believe, after the investigations are complete, most of those 68 millions acres will be unusable or undrillable. But regardless, the taxes on developing a new drilling site would easily outweigh the costs as it stands. Reducing the amount, time and cost of “environmental studies” would be the first significant step to solving the biggest energy crisis this nation has seen in over 20 years. But that alone is not enough.

We need to drill, and drill now. Barriers must be removed to domestic oil production. No longer can we let the OPEC cartel dictate what prices our economy will be run around. Nearly everything is affected by the price of oil and gasoline and not have a domestic barrier against foreign market tampering is dangerous, unpractical and fiscally inflationary.

Even Rush Limbaugh agrees.

You want to make sure the environment isn’t damaged? Fine. You want to make sure we move toward renewal energy sources in future? Fine. You want to make sure a fair market is in play? Fine. Make those conditions of domestic drilling. But get it started for god sakes. The economy simply cannot endure this much longer.

Politico.com: GOP Strategists Mull McCain ‘Blowout’

Yet another proof source for the growing consensus: 2008 is the Republicans year to lose.

From the ROADMAP 2008 Department:

Another MSM comes out and acknowledges that the tides are in fact turning to McCain’s favor:

The latest polls which present the two contenders as roughly tied in national standing are likely to change in Mr. Obama’s favor once the Democratic nominee is definitively pronounced. Mr. McCain can therefore only win the election if he provides a grand platform. In contrast to Mr. Obama’s slogan of “Change,” Mr. McCain should offer “Victory.” This is an electoral agenda pledging to deliver five victories: in Iraq, over a sluggish economy, in securing energy independence, in sealing the border and for the pro-life movement by reversing Roe v. Wade (through the appointment of strict constructionists to the Supreme Court).

One thing is for certain, as we have seen time and time again, just when McCain finally starts to rally the conservatives he will do something incredibly stupid like coming out in favor of global warming regulations right after his democratic rival suffers an embarrassing loss. Yeah, that’s a great way to rally the conservative base around you.

I would also add cutting government to the list above, current GOP Senators and Representatives share that sentiment. Reducing our deficit, cutting burdensome regulations and reducing Americans overall tax load will be a key issue to emerge later in the campaign. It will be seen as a solution to the failure of the economic stimulus packages. You want a real economic stimulus? Fine, vote for the candidate who will free up some more of your own money.

Even Karl Rove notes that the only way for a Republican victory in November is by following the above mentioned paths.

Another thing is for certain: McCain will not win on his merits at all. He will only win if he embraces the hard-core party activists’ message, who in turn will help re-shape his deeply flawed Republican character.

The media is attempting to create a false painted image that the Republican party is not behind John McCain. Stories like this one are attempting to paint the Republican base as dissatisfied with the GOP nominee.

Funny, I don’t see stories stating that, “Huckabee supporters will not support McCain”. They may be a few lone voices out there, but certainly It is a pattern they have stuck to since 1984. And you thought they were a party of the people!

And to make further ridiculousness of the Demon-rats’ claim to be the “Party Of The People”, I invite you, my dear readers, to take a quick tour of who exactly a superdelegate is:

According to the Democratic National Committee’s party rules, a superdelegate is:

• A Democratic governor, a senator, or a member of the House of Representatives
• A member of the Democratic National Committee, elected by party activists in her state
• A distinguished party leader, such as former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, or former House speakers Jim Wright and Tom Foley
• An at-large DNC member such as Richard Michalski, appointed by party chairman Howard Dean and ratified by the DNC membership

So in other words: superdelegate are nothing but party crumbs. They do not represent the common man, the common voter or the person who actually ends up paying the taxes on their endless government programs. Rather, their own party rules seem to be designed for the exact opposite effect of reducing the impact of the ordinary, common-man taxpayer. The super-delegates do nothing to confirm the popular vote or to verify the election results. No, the superdelegates  are there to make sure that the potential nominee continues to push for the socialist-liberal agenda of endless entitlement programs, socially engineered political correctness and a state-managed business environment.

In other words, they are there to make sure the candidate will be the disciple of the same type of government waste that gave you such wonderful “entitlement” programs as social security and Medicare.

And before you think I am painting an all rosy picture for the GOP and casting a shadow of doom for the coming DNC National convention fight, I would ask you to read this from Kiplinger.com:

“Even though it was taken before Mitt Romney withdrew and McCain all but became the Republican nominee, the poll showed that Republicans were already moving solidly behind McCain. “McCain holds a substantial lead among all segments of the Republican electorate, with the sole exception of white evangelical Protestants”.

And that, my dear readers, will give McCain the clear advantage coming out of the national conventions at the end of the year. McCain will be the clear cut party guy chosen by a legitimate vote and process. Neither B. Hussein or Clinton will be able to say the same.

Here is to fireworks in August! Let us pray that the Democrats choose to make a huge spectacle of this.

 

While Conservatives learn to, ‘live with’ McCain as their nominee, another issue is about to take shape: the realization that a Presidential election is not just about solving today’s issues, but also making sure that we have a clear vision about what we want our nation to accomplish, and thusly, our President.

It is becoming abundantly clear to me that despite the Conservative movement failure to elect a true social conservative there still lies ripe opportunities for the Republican agenda to advance.

I will point you to this story in today’s NYTimes.com. 

Simply put, the elephant in the room that both parties are equally responsible for is the ballooning federal budget. We can talk universal health care, the war in Iraq or NSA wiretap violations all you want, but unless a party emerges to challenge the current budget orthodoxy we will be left without a horse to pull the cart. There simply won’t be the horse to the proverbial government.

There may well be one ‘benefit’ to the McCain nomination: the liberal press is willing to embrace this Republicans eye for tax cuts. We have elected the man who has stabbed us in the back over and over and over again, but hot damn, at least the NYTimes is willing to listen to his fiscal policy!

For the GOP base, many of whom still are vehemently loyal to President Bush, many will be willing to heed his call to unify behind the GOP front-runner.

I talked with one of my Idaho State Representatives yesterday at a GOP function. His passioned argument is this, “getting behind McCain now will allow us time to heal before the election. Hillary and Barak should still be fighting then, in the mean time we can develop real answers for the challenges that lie agenda”. In other words, get over it now so we can have the most concise Republican agenda mapped out.

The theory is this: we get behind McCain now. Heal our wounds and infighting. Develop our ideas for the future, ideas that are consistent with lower taxes, less government and family values. By focusing on the Federal waste in the form of earmarks, budget deficits, unfunded mandates and bureaucratic regulations.

Meanwhile the Democrats are in a state of virtual ‘civil war’.

Now tell me, all things aside, isn’t getting behind our party’s Democratically elected nominee in our own best interest? Especially considering the Presidents, Congress and the GOP’s public approval ratings? Do we really want to  lose on issues like the War On Terror, balancing the federal budget, constitutional Supreme Court appointments because we are fighting over who is the most conservative?

By accepting John McCain now, Libertarian and Conservative Republicans can position themselves with the best possible chance to get the party to take up their key issues in the next election.

And that, my friends, is a benefit the Socialists and Atheists on the Democratic side will not have while they squabble over KKKlinton or Osama.

Just food for thought. And yes, I am still voting Ron Paul in the Idaho Primary elections on May 27th. But that doesn’t mean things should have already been long decided by then.

John McCain’s sudden rise in the election is very disturbing to me.

Granted, he still trails Romney in the Delegate count by a huge margin AND he still has won only 2 of the 10 completed States. But that doesn’t mean we can’t read into it a bit. Quite simply John McCain is the candidate for more of the same-old, same-old. But I guess considering that the Republicans successfully re-elected GWB with this attitude, its not wonder so many are looking at McCain as our key to keep the White House.

What states are up next? Click here.

Another thing to note in this election process: outright voter fraud. More of the same-old, same-old. I wonder if it will be ‘hanging chads’ again or maybe a Diebold machine that gives the election to a lobbyists favored candidate.

Clintons witness voter fraud at Casinos whose unions endorsed Obama

Canadian Press claims Clinton fraud

New Hampshire GOP election fraud

And lets not forget about the latest ’Tax Rebate’ that President Bush is proposing.  $800 would be refunded for individuals or $1600 for families. Does this sound familiar? It should, is more of the same-old, same-old. Its a re-do of the 2005 tax rebates. It didn’t work then, it won’t work now. How exactly will $1,600 dollars help a family whose ARM is adjusting? How exactly will $1,600 help the family that Micron just laid off? How exactly will $1,600 help the housing market in Idaho, which is 20% out-of-state-investor owned?

And here in Idaho and Idaho Senator wants to use $5,000,000 of your tax money to fund the Special Olympics.  Excuse me? Where does the Constitution authorize that? That Senator sits on the Idaho Special Olympics board. It must be nice to be a Legislator and be able to use money taken by force for your own purposes.

[And a side note: the Special Olympics budget this week went up from $25 million to $35 million. You know EXACTLY where that money is going to come from.]

So lets sum it up: a continued War in Iraq with John McCain, a continued rigged election system to get those in that the cooperate donors and lobbyists prefer, more bad economic policies and increasing taxation for more special projects.

This sudden swing for the status quo means that you the voter will not be able to vote for a real change in the 2008 Presidental race. The Republican Roadmap 2008, which calls for turning back to our creed of lower taxes, less government and family values, will take a second posistion to keeping the White House. It is exactly as I predicted, let us hope the bloggers  and younger voters will become energized once again before it is too late.

Hmmm…. Welcome to 2008!

Isn’t progress great?

Catch this story?

It highlights perfectly what so many Americans already know- in their bureaucratic and administrative capacities the various branches of government have become governments unto themselves, routinely bumping into each others area of jurisdictions and making it nearly impossible for Legislators, Congressman and the general public alike to set any sort of standard for accountability or reform.

Take for example the case of roads. Idaho has one of the worst managed public road systems in the north west. The level of political partisanship, agendas and ineptitude that is accepted is alarming. The ultimate abuse of the taxpayer lies with the attitude that so many of the public road planners have. Namely they intentionally create stop lights to slow traffic, crowd and mismanage major road arteries and delay projects that the  public demand all to serve their ultimate goal: to force public transportation, the ultimate in social welfare, on the backs of the taxpayer.

And then to make matters worse- they simply seek to pass off their ineptitude to other transportation departments. If, for example, a road project doesn’t meet the agenda of the Ada County Highway department they can simply claim that the Idaho Transportation Department has jurisdiction of the road, or vice versa. The end result is that the public, who is demanding a better managed road, less stoplights, or more lanes, gets stymied in their requests.

It is agenda driven government, backed by the media who is always willing to embrace the socialist ideal, that intentionally creates the problems that require the government o step in, ‘to solve the problem’.

Another case in point here: the administrator for the Idaho Department Of Education simply didn’t like the No Child Left Behind Act. Her solution? Simply ignore the budget that legislators set for her Department. He agenda driven decision has cost Idaho $1.5 million dollars and cut two sets of tests that are designed to make sure Public schools are actually performing their mission.

Is Idaho going to have to learn the hard way? Every action by the government costs money, expands the powers of government and takes away a little more freedom from the citizens.

Even states like Kalifornia are learning that they cannot be all things to all people, that their is a definite and finite amount of responsibility that any government can bear.

Even here, the WaPo notes,Governors, rather than cutting government during budget crises are endorsing risky budget maneuvers to keep the welfare/big-brother state up-and-running.

Talking with Legislators this year I heard this one constant complaint: that bureaucratic regulations infringe on their responsibility to make law.

This is the path of insanity. Do you see where this leads? If legislators or congressmen are powerless to make or change laws, then the government, for all intents and purposes, gets to create its own. The end result of that is bigger government, increased regulations and a lack of accountability for the taxpayers dollar.

We must demand, and should be able to expect, that our government is responsive to our wishes, that our tax money is well accounted for, and most importantly, the constitutional role of government is respected. We can no longer accept the secret shadow government that has emerged to rule us. We cannot allow the bureaucrats to write their own laws, their own budgets, and their own priorities anymore.

Anything less than this, my dear readers, would be adjudicating our role as a voter to the government itself. Now tell me, are you really comfortable with that? I didn’t think so.

Isn’t progress great?

Politico.com has a great article here.

Quite simply, if the Republican party becomes the party of government handouts, then what good is voting Republican party at all? The ONLY real solution for the Republican party is to continue to emphasize a smaller government, less taxation and family values, and a personal responsibility platform.

The rest of Politco.com’s article pretty much sums it up.

---

Roadmap For Rebuilding is a LedeAgenda.com series on the best election scenario for the Republican party in 2008. Part one can be found here, Part Two, here.

For those who strive for the advancement of freedom and liberty nothing is more sacred that bemoaning the latest government power grab. Like and orchestrated production the daily affairs a many of men a swept asunder under an increasing and dizzying array of regulations and laws aimed not at preserving natural law but rather in that of ‘Homeland Security”. Men, it is believed, finds itself at constant threat from the unknown face, that ruthless scrounge whom seems to the the reason that so many things in our life need to cede to the power of the government.

So as the size of government grows so must our ways of combating the unconstitutional demands that the shackles of government would impose on our free will.

A brief assessment of many areas that will be critical for Republican election success have already shown signs of pushback. Faced with a absolute crises in the fund raising department, the GOP is having to depend on donors that traditionally have spurned organized politics. Captain Obvious would like to point out that these donors give far less than the corporate lobbyists and often fall under the reporting requirements the FEC has dreamed up.

And another side note: reliance on those small time donors has also forced the party to return to its smaller government roots, a boon to the disgruntled political base of the party.

But even the big money donors are pushing back- have to Googled Ron Paul Blimp lately? If this innovative approach to free political speech survives a few key lawsuits and rulings it may well pave a way for nearly the entire election campaign contribution limits as we know them to be rendered moot.

But there is a even larger issue that deserves consideration. Namely it comes down to one issue: if no one is appointed to administer the regulations then what good will the regulations do?

This story comes to us from the Washington Post:

The Federal Election Commission will effectively go dark on Jan. 1 because Congress remains locked in a standoff over the confirmation of President Bush’s nominees to the panel. As a consequence, the FEC will enter 2008 with just two of six members — short of the four votes needed for the commission to take any official action.

Did you catch that? The FEC is rendered obsolete by default- it will not be able to act on, “deciding whether to launch investigations into possible campaign finance violations and determining the penalties”. Also, the WaPo notes the FEC commissioners are charged with determining which candidates shall receive matching funds.

The lack of approval for President Bush’s FEC appointments in this case is serving as a positive for the Conservative and Libertarian lending folks in the GOP. Chief among the Presidential Candidates slated to receive federal funding is Mr. I Support Amnesty, Senator John McCain. Let me ask you this: considering that pushing the Dems to appoint the Presidents FEC commissioners would grant McCain public money to run is campaign AND allow the FEC to go about its business in meddling in free political speech, do we really want the President to win this battle?

But Bureaucratic appoints need not be the only struggle the Republicans can gain from. The minority party, when given the opportunity to say block the 60 votes needed for a bill to pass in the Senate, can offer plenty of fight in the cause for self-government. I touched on this a bit in the earlier article. It is key that Republicans present a unified and significant force constantly demanding action for lower taxes, smaller government and family values. So far, per reports from frustrated Democratic officials, our leadership has seemingly keyed in on this vital role.

This from NYTimes.com:

Reid’s comments reflected party leaders’ recent decision to temper their boasts about congressional accomplishments with admissions that Republicans have used their veto and filibuster powers to block or weaken many Democratic initiatives.

The originally title that the New York Times used for the above article was, “Republicans Block Democratic Agenda”. The title was quickly re-worked to its more Democratic-friendly wording lede. After all, it must have just killed the New York Times to admit the Republicans where actually able to do something [finally] to block the advancement of socialism in this country. Not that many of the current Republican counter plans are much better, mind you.

And my final survey of current news for the new Republican Roadmap come from my hometown paper, The Idaho Statesman:

The Nampa & Meridian Irrigation District said Friday that it decided to waive the $4.78 it charged Brian Bandhauer for not paying his irrigation bill on time.

the article goes on to note:

Bandhauer said he didn’t know he was in an irrigation district because he doesn’t have access to irrigation water, and because the bill went to the wrong address the first year he lived in the home.

Seems like we can all learn from that battle, no?

---

This is part two of LedeAgendas.com’s, “Roadmap For Re-building” series. The first article can be read here.

It is not very often as a Conservative that I read NYTimes.com and come away thinking, ‘that was refreshing’. But such was the case today.

After having been battered about by the Democrats, the Anti-War crowd, the Hate Bush crowd and even a substantial portion of its own party, I was beginning to wonder if the Republican party could get back on track in time to re-solidify the base. Such discord that John Boehner was quoted as saying, ‘our fundraising sucks’.

How bad is our fundraising thus far? Politico.com notes:

At the end of the third quarter, the Democratic campaign arm had $28 million in the bank; the Republicans had $1.6 million (and twice that total in debt).

In short, it’s really not a good time to be a Republican right now. We can’t raise money, can’t agree on a candidate and are fighting an uphill battle in the courts of public opinion and the media. And quite frankly, with how we have spent money and expanded government like drunken sailors over the last few years, we deserve it. 

However, read both of the articles above. They should be must-reads for anyone involved with the Republican party at the moment. There is a plan for the future that has been developed. Allow me, for a moment, to summarize:

1. ‘We have a long fight back to power’.
2. We need to take our position as a minority party seriously. 
3. Coy and precise leadership is necessary to craft and inject our vision into law.
4. Only a return to our principals can regain lost trust and support.

Let me summarize my summary: we need to re-build.

Let me be clear: the best way for the Republican party to regain its power it to once again take its own ideas seriously. Stop dilly-dallying with ‘moderate’ and Democratic proposals and trying to make them ‘less Big-government’ or ‘more taxpayer friendly’. Lets get back to our creed: Lower taxes, limited government and family values.

They are principles that we can use to rally behind and stick to our guns on in the Senate, as we have done thus far with most the budget bills in the Senate. The are practical, time-honored viewpoints that will be respected in debate.

So how does this all play out?

Well, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has figured it out- procedure, procedure, procedure.

In short- It takes 60 votes to pass a bill in the Senate. The Democrats do not have 60 Dems in the Senate. Well guess what, if we stand united and true to our own beliefs, we can inject our policy into nearly any legislative agenda. And the best part is- we get to frustrate the hell out of the Democrats and beat them at their own game. Remember this- during almost all of the Bush II Presidency the Dems have continuously used the filibuster or some other Senate tactic to delay, deny, or stop a bill.

I think it’s time that we unite around our common values- lower taxes, less government and family values. It’s time for us to make sure that legislation does not get our votes unless its values meet these criteria.

It’s time for us to become what the NYTimes.com calls, ‘The Grand Obstructionist Party’.

You know, irritating the hell out of the Democratic party, the NYTimes and still making progress on our cause? That is what I call a win-win situation. I think we may have finally found peace with our party’s current situation. It’s sure gonna be fun.