What to Watch For In the 2009 Midterm Elections
Tomorrow's election will be about more than local issues, and the Democrats know it.
When voters go to the polls on Nov. 3, they'll be thinking about Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. There is truth in Tip O'Neill's famous line, "All politics is local," but in 2009, the bottom line is what matters. And here it is:
Since the Democrats have taken over, nothing has really changed. The recent good news that has been reported about the economy is the result of artificiality, and is only as solid as the next stimulus payment. In terms of generating recovery, there has been no real progress made, and despite Democrats' best efforts, the public knows it.
In all three major races -- the 23rd Congressional District race in upstate New York and the races for governor in New York and Virginia -- recent polling has shown the Republican or conservative candidate ahead.
Principle or Party in New York's 23rd Congressional District?
The three-way battle between Republican Dede Scozzafava, Independent Doug Hoffman and Democrat Bill Owens for New York's 23rd Congressional District seat will have ramifications far beyond who wins on Nov. 3.
The race has created deep divisions in both conservative and Republican camps. Depending on who is asked, the campaign is either about creating party unity or standing for conservative principles.
With former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin backing Hoffman, whose positions on wedge issues have endeared him to social conservatives, and former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich backing Scozzafava, whose 11-year fiscal conservative history as a state assemblywoman has been all but forgotten in the debate.
Obama's Medical Marijuana Policy: A Victory for States' Rights
Rarely does President Barack Obama do something which libertarian conservatives can appreciate, but last week's memo from Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden is one of those "somethings."
In a move that can only be seen as a victory for states' rights advocates, the Justice Department has announced it will no longer pursue federal prosecutions against anyone in the medical marijuana supply chain who operates in states where the drug is legal. The memo does, however, strongly emphasize the administration's commitment to enforcing existing federal drug laws, but recognizes the difficulty of developing "different guidelines for every possible variant of state and local law."
From the memo:
... [P]ursuit of these priorities should not focus federal resources in your States on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana. For example, prosecution of individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses who use marijuana as part of a recommended treatment regimen consistent with applicable state law, or those caregivers in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state law who provide such individuals with marijuana, is unlikely to be an efficient use of limited federal resources.
The War on FOX: Barack Obama's Police State
Close your figurative eyes for a few moments.
Imagine that in the fall of 2007, President George W. Bush declares that MSNBC is no longer a news organization.
One of his high-ranking officials claims the 13-year-old network channel is "opinion journalism masquerading as news." President Bush says he will only speak to like-minded journalists, whom he considers "legitimate," and follows this up over the next several weeks by granting interviews only to conservative-leaning journalists who ask him like-minded questions.
Top Novels for Conservatives
With President Barack Obama leading the nation down a dark and dreary path, conservatives can't be blamed for occasionally wanting to escape the painful realities of his doomed administration.
Although television is often a source of comfort, it's like eating fast food -- it's takes care of the hunger, but isn't all that satisfying. Surfing the web is OK, but movies are better, and magazines are even better than that. But for pure escapism, nothing beats a good book.
For those who want to escape the present, but not veer too far from politics, non-fiction works well. For those who want to really escape, however, novels work best.
Katy Abram: A Driven Conservative in a Jackass' Den
Regardless of how you feel about her, you can't say that stay-at-home mom Katy Abram hasn't got guts.
Not satisfied with her answer from Sen. Arlen Specter during a town hall meeting in August, Abram decided she would seek out the Senator on his own turf and on his own terms ... at a Democratic fund-raiser in his honor this weekend at a fire hall in Lebanon County, Pa.
A 2009 Stimulus Package Report Card
The federal deficit will hit a whopping $1.42 trillion, the highest it has been in the nation's 233-year history, thanks to plunging tax revenues and a high-speed spending spree undertaken by giddy Democrats who had just been given the keys to the Treasury.
The deficit is more than three times higher than it was in President George W. Bush's final -- and most expensive -- year in office.
And while it would seem inconceivable that President Barack Obama would continue to blame his predecessor for problems that are so clearly his, the president wasn't about to take responsibility for his own actions.
Olympia's Snowe Job on ObamaCare
If the ultimate incarnation of ObamaCare turns out to be the disaster many expect it will be, history will look grimly upon liberal Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe.
Vowing that her support today for a flawed 10-year, $829 billion health care reform bill didn't constitute a vote for similarly bad legislation further along in the process, Snowe nevertheless sided with Democrats and voted to help them move the package out of the Senate Finance Committee and onto the Senate floor.
The legislation, authored by Democratic Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, will now be merged with another Senate health care plan and forwarded to a conference committee of House and Senate leaders. From there, it will be merged once again, this time with a House version. The conference committee will haggle over the details of the plan behind closed doors, and the resulting legislation, which undoubtedly will include a number of highly liberal ingredients, will come before the Senate for full legislative vote. Although Snowe said she will not support a public option, her decision today essentially greased the wheels for a public option to be included.
In short, Snowe's vote simply allowed Democrats to take a bad bill and make it even worse.
Obama's Highly Questionable Nobel Peace Prize
Anyone who fails to see the irony in The Norwegian Nobel Committee's decision to award President Barack Obama the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize at a time when he is deliberating about possibly the most important military decision of his young presidency just isn't paying attention.
This isn't the only reason the committee's award is so questionable, and it's not just conservatives who are shaking their heads in disbelief.
Katy Abram: My Story is Your Story
On Aug. 11, 2009, stay-at-home mom Katy Abram inspired conservatives everywhere to speak their minds when she stood up to Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter at a health care town hall in Lebanon County, Pa. and demanded accountability from her government.
Since her fateful meeting with Specter, she has appeared on a variety of news programs, including CNN's "American Morning," FOX News' "Hannity," and MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews." She's been a guest on Glenn Beck's radio program, and the subject of numerous blog posts. Abram has become a lightning rod for the Left and an icon for the Right.
And starting today, you can read her commentary right here at US Conservative Politics & Perspectives at About.com.