In Alaska’s GOP House primary, Ron Paul has chosen to put friendship and incumbency ahead of his libertarian principles and endorse kleptocrat Rep. Don Young:
Paul, the 72-year-old congressman from Texas whose maverick presidential bid drew wide support in Alaska, sent out a letter to his supporters here urging them to vote for Young.
“Don and I have served together in Congress for many years, and I consider him a friend,” Paul wrote in the letter. “Don has been an outspoken voice against environmental extremists over the years and has strongly opposed the types of federal regulatory overreach advocated in the name of environmentalism.”
Don Young is rEVOLutionary? Who knew?
In issuing this endorsement, Rep. Paul bypassed both small government conservative Sean Parnell and libertarian Republican state representative Gabrielle LeDoux. But I can’t say that his refusal to endorse my candidate, Sean Parnell, bothers me, as I would be more likely to vote for the GOP candidate Ron Paul didn’t endorse.
You can donate to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell’s campaign here.
An article on the ads can be found here. The ads focus not only on Chris Hackett’s background, but his positions on energy and earmarks as well. Here they are.
The first one is called “New Direction”:
The second is called “Plan”:
Good job, Chris! You can donate to Chris Hackett’s campaign here.
Big Labor’s top goal is passing legislation called “card check.” This would take the right to a secret ballot away from workers as they vote on whether or not to unionize. In the state of California, they are seeking to take this right away from farm workers. Luckily, workers have people like Tom McClintock there to fight for them:
“What is it about the right of a secret ballot that bothers you?” Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, asked his Democratic colleagues during the debate. “An election in which someone is looking over your shoulder as you cast your vote is no election at all it’s a sham.”
While I was interning in DC, the organization I worked for pressed hard against this legislation in the House of Representatives, where it appeared under the Orwellian name of “The Employee Free Choice Act.” It was stopped there, but in 2008 we elect new representatives and a new president. Make no mistake, with a Democratic Congress and a President Obama, this legislation will pass.
Representatives like Tom McClintock will help serve as a firewall against draconian Big Labor legislation. You can donate to Tom McClintock’s campaign here.
There have been rumors floating around that Sen. John McCain is flirting with the idea of a pro-choice vice president such as Sen. Joe Lieberman, Tom Ridge, or perhaps even Rudy Giuliani. As Michigan GOP Senatorial candidate Jack Hoogendyk points out, this would be a disaster:
While the War in Iraq and the economy are at the forefront, Senator John McCain’s announcement that he would consider a pro-choice running mate is making noise in local political circles. Kalamazoo Representative Jack Hoogendyk says there is a small pocket of voters who, regardless of the economy, will put social issues like abortion at the top of their list when choosing a presidential candidate. Hoogendyk believes a pro-life VP could move McCain past Barack Obama in November.
Exactly. The GOP base is already wary of a John McCain presidency, and this would only compound their fears. Picking a pro-choice running mate may bring in the independents, but it would cause the base (who are far more willing to donate and volunteer) to sit this one out, and wait for a new Reagan to run against a very Jimmy Carter-like Barack Obama in 2012.
Jack Hoogendyk knows this, and hopefully McCain does, too.
…they’ll choose Sean Parnell in next Tuesday’s primary. New polling from Ivan Moore Research shows that Democratic House candidate Ethan Berkowitz beats Rep. Don Youngby a 10-point margin in the general election. However, when matched up against Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, Berkowitz loses by a 5-point margin.
In light of this, why vote for Rep. Young in the primary? He’ll probably be out of office in January regardless.
Down the Ticket-sponsored candidate Jason Chaffetz has posted a new entry to his official blog covering his endorsement from Mitt Romney, amongst other things. Go check it out!
Republican John Gard released on Monday his first television ad of the campaign for Wisconsin’s 8th congressional district and it’s all about gas. In the ad, Gard takes voters on a “trip” from Northeast Wisconsin to Saudi Arabia to Venezuela, comparing the cost of gas in the district with the low prices in those oil-producing countries.
The problem, he says, starts in Congress, where his Democratic opponent Rep. Steve Kagen has voted numerous times against expanding the nation’s off-shore drilling areas.
“Even with jet lag, Congress not letting us drill makes no sense to me,” he says.
Sounds good! Here is the ad:
I like that he brought up Cuba’s offshore oil drilling, because I don’t think that many people across the nation know that. It will lead many to question whether they want the drilling that will be taking place off our shores to be done by Cuba or by American companies who will be bound by environmental regulations.
There’s an event coming up featuring Down the Ticket-sponsored Senate candidate Dr. Steve Sauerberg. Here are the details:
The 52nd Annual Rock Island County Republican Barbeque At Indian Bluff Begins at 5 P.M. August 21st—Tickets are $12.00 for adults, children 12 and under with an adult are free. BBQ Dinner catered by Famous Dave’s.
Events include Music by the BHC Jazz Band, Antique Car show, Exhibit of GOP Memorabilia and keynote address by Steve Sauerberg candidate for U.S Senate.
T Off In The 1st Annual GOP Golf Outing at 12pm and stay for the BBQ Dinner and evening events—50.00 per person includes golf, cart and Barbeque Dinner.
For reservations contact Bill long at 309-794-0032—Fax: 794-1096 —email- JKLWLLI@aol.com or the Republican Party Office: 309-764-6262. See the Rock Island County GOP website at: rockislandgop.com
Sounds like a fun time! If you can’t make it, make sure yo donate to Dr. Sauerberg’s campaign here.
It looks like “moderate” Rep. Chris Carney has learned something from his fellow Pennsylvania Democrat Rep. John Murtha:
Carney’s office has touted his ability to bring back money to the 10th Congressional District, announcing more than $15 million in projects secured in the 2007 budget, and several other projects this year.
Hackett’s campaign has been critical of Washington, D.C.’s spending policies, specifically on the earmarking process. Earmarks set aside funds in spending bills for specific uses, such as grants toward a specific school or other program. Earmarks only make up about 2 percent of the federal budget, but have been criticized by tax advocate groups because the programs do not go out to bid.
[...]
“There are often many good projects that are funded, but the problem is the overall process that leads to corruption,” Hackett said. “It also leads to other bills being passed that otherwise wouldn’t be passed if they didn’t have earmarks attached to them. It’s a way that the leadership buys votes from other members of Congress. It’s why our federal budget keeps rising.”
Chris Hackett knows that bills in Congress need to pass or fail based on inherent value of the legislation, not what money is going to what district via earmarks placed within the bill.
The race to represent Pennsylvania’s 10th District will be close, but trying to buy votes isn’t the way to win.
Portraying Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta as the local version of President Bush is the main Democratic strategy so far in the 11th Congressional District race between Mr. Barletta and U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, the incumbent Democrat.
Note to liberals: Bush is not on the ticket, not even the presidential one! Who is Rep. Paul Kanjorski going to blame his horrible representation of Pennsylvania’s 11th District on in 2010 if (God forbid) he’s re-elected this fall?
A bill to lift gun restrictions in the District of Columbia could be the key to political survival for Texas congressman Nick Lampson and other red-state Democrats.
As fall elections approach, these House members in traditionally Republican districts hope to appeal to conservative voters by pushing a bill that would eliminate D.C.’s restrictions on gun ownership.
After the Supreme Court ruled in June that the city’s gun ban was unconstitutional, district officials adopted strict regulations for selling and registering handguns and promised to enforce a separate ban on semiautomatic weapons. Critics say these measures violate the court’s ruling by hindering people from buying firearms.
Mr. Lampson, who replaced former Majority Leader Tom DeLay in a Republican-leaning Houston-area district, is among the co-sponsors of the bill, along with Democrats from Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee and Pennsylvania, who are considered vulnerable in the November elections.
It’s sort of cute that Rep. Lampson thinks that co-sponsoring a bill on DC’s gun rights will hide his otherwise Pelosi-like record in the House of Representatives. However, with an ACU rating of 20%, it will be hard for Rep. Lampson to square his deep blue votes with his deep red campaign rhetoric. If the people of Texas’ 22nd District send Pete Olson to Washington in his place, this is something they’ll never have to worry about.
