“The district represented by Bainbridge Township Republican Rep. Steve LaTourette will pick up parts of Cuyahoga County he does not currently represent, including Brecksville, Independence, Lyndhurst and Mayfield Heights, as well as communities in Summit, Portage and Trumbull counties.”

What does this mean? LaTourette’s district is now solidly Republican and would elect a conservative nominee in a general election. For years, LaTourette has opposed conservative initiatives.

He voted for NPR funding.

He voted against a bill to repeal mandatory funding for school-based health center construction as appropriated in the Obamacare legislation.

He voted against an amendment to HR 2017 that would have prohibited the use of funds to implement collective bargaining by employees of the Transportation Security Administration.

In a bellweather district, perhaps one could make a case for LaTourette. But in a safe Republican district, we can do better.

Ohio 14 needs a conservative candidate. Here’s hoping for an Ohio 14 tea party!

George’s insight and clarity are on display throughout the speech. Read it all as they say, but here’s a slice:

“Economic and social conservatives have common enemies in the overbearing social welfare state, the entitlement mentality, and the statist ideologies that provide their intellectual underpinnings. But the marriage of economic and social conservatives is not, and must not be regarded as a mere marriage of convenience. The reason we have common enemies is that we have common principles. What do you think our enemies are enemies of? They’re opposed to our principles, our common principles. Our marriage is, and must be understood to be, a marriage of principle, even if it’s not always a romantic love match.”

“The moral foundations of economic conservatism are precisely those of social conservatism: respect for the human person, which grounds our commitment to individual liberty; and the right to economic freedom and other essential civil liberties; belief in personal responsibility, which is a precondition of the possibility of moral desirability; individual liberty in every domain; recognition of subsidiary as the basis for effective but truly limited government; respect for the Rule of Law, even against courts which want to act like legislators instead of judges; and recognition of the vital role played by the family in the flourishing of any decent and dynamic society.”

George’s speech is a welcome counterpoint to the patent weakness of much of the 2012 presidential field.  Mitt Romney’s Romneycare debacle and wobbly record on Iraq during 2007 and early 2008 are uninspiring. He seems to be auditioning for a restoration of the Bush 41 country club presidency.  Huckabee is a spendthrift and completely unsympathetic to the tough measures needed to revive economic liberty. Mitch Daniels meanwhile has been calling for a “truce” on social issues; in a society where these issues are more contentious than ever, such a truce is nothing more than a white flag. Daniel’s silence on the Ground Zero Mosque controversy also reinforces existing doubts about his views on fighting Islamic extremism and maintaining close ties with allies like Israel. Haley Barbour similarly has been silent on the GZ Mosque.

George is without doubt among the most brilliant and intellectually fearless conservatives in the country. But George’s speech/essay makes it necessary to ask why conservatives must settle for such a flawed field of presidential candidates. 

Maybe we don’t. While the odds favor the victory of someone from the existing field, Robert George reminds us that there are a rare group of folks out there who, despite their lack of elective experience, but because of their talents, resolve, and dedication to constitutional principle, would make outstanding presidents. I would place George in this category along with John Bolton and Liz Cheney; doubtless there are others. As the 2012 GOP nomination campaign begins in mid-November, conservatives should be willing to look beyond the current crop of aspirants. 

Here’s one:

I’m a student at Carleton College who has contributed (financially and with my time) to the Obama campaign. I just got an automated call from Jeff Blodgett, the chair of the MN campaign. The text of the call was:

“Hello, this is Jeff Blodgett from the Minnesota for Obama campaign. Our initial data shows this election is significantly closer than the polls predicted. We are putting out an urgent call for volunteers… We are organized groups to knock on doors at five P.M., or earlier if you can, for our final GOTV operation.” This was followed by different numbers to call based on your residence.

Here’s another:

A New York City-based Obama home phonebanker who’s been making calls through the MyBO.com hub to PA and VA says he just received this e-mail:

Friends — Barack needs your help now — our data indicates that the results will be very close in many states. I can’t emphasize enough how urgent this message is. Please go to http://my.barackobama.com/call and start calling as soon as you can. We are not going to hit our goal of 500,000 calls for today by 3pm Central, unless we get at least 2,000 more people calling for the next hour. Can you call now and continue for as long as you can manage? http://my.barackobama.com/call Thank you. Judith

The Red State Directors should endorse a Sarah Palin write-in campaign in the Alaska Senate race. It could be the one thing that saves the seat for the GOP. Stevens might even choose to end his campaign if faced with this additional obstacle.

If she wins, she can decline the seat, whether she becomes vice president or remains governor.

The seat would then be open, with a special election to follow. That would be an election the Republicans can win.

Obama has way too much tolerance for those who wage murderous terror against America and its democratic allies

Here’s what WorldNet Daily reported earlier this year:

“Sources at the university told WND that Khalidi and Obama lived in nearby faculty residential zones and that the two families dined together a number of times. The sources said the Obamas even babysat the Khalidi children.
Khalidi in 2000 held what was described as a successful fundraiser for Obama’s failed bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, a fact not denied by Khalidi, who spoke to WND in February.

As WND reported, an anti-Israel Arab group run by Khalidi’s wife, Mona, received crucial funding from a Chicago nonprofit, the Woods Fund, for which Obama served as a board member.

In 2001, the Woods Fund, which describes itself as a group helping the disadvantaged, provided a $40,000 grant to Khalidi’s Arab American Action Network, or AAAN. The fund provided a second grant to the AAAN for $35,000 in 2002.

Speakers at AAAN dinners and events routinely have taken an anti-Israel line.
The group co-sponsored a Palestinian art exhibit, titled, “The Subject of Palestine,” that featured works related to what some Palestinians call the “Nakba” or “catastrophe” of Israel’s founding in 1948.

When Khalidi departed the University of Chicago in 2003, Obama delivered an in-person testimonial at a farewell ceremony reminiscing about conversations over meals prepared by Mona Khalidi.

According to a Los Angeles Times account, Obama said his talks with the Khalidis served as “consistent reminders to me of my own blind spots and my own biases. … It’s for that reason that I’m hoping that, for many years to come, we continue that conversation – a conversation that is necessary not just around Mona and Rashid’s dinner table,” but around “this entire world.”
Khalidi’s farewell dinner was replete with anti-Israel speakers.

One, a young Palestinian American, recited a poem in Obama’s presence that accused the Israeli government of terrorism in its treatment of Palestinians and sharply criticized U.S. support of Israel, the Times reported.
Another speaker, who reportedly talked while Obama was present, compared “Zionist settlers on the West Bank” to Osama bin Laden.

Israel a ‘constant sore’

Just last week, WND noted Obama termed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a “constant sore” in an interview just five days after Khalidi wrote an opinion piece in the Nation magazine in which he called the “Palestinian question” a “running sore.”

In his piece, “Palestine: Liberation Deferred,” Khalidi suggests Israel carried out “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians; writes Western powers backed Israel’s establishment due to guilt of the Holocaust; laments the Palestinian Authority’s stated acceptance of a Palestinian state “only” in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and eastern sections of Jerusalem; and argues Israel should be dissolved and instead a bi-national, cantonal system should be set up in which Jews and Arabs reside

During documented speeches and public events, Khalidi has called Israel an “apartheid system in creation” and a destructive “racist” state.

He has multiple times implied support for Palestinian terror, calling suicide bombings a response to “Israeli aggression.”

Beyond promises to take on spending and some tactical tax-cutting to cut off Romney’s running room, McCain needed to say little about the economy.

McCain had hoped to do the same with Obama. But the economic crisis has forced McCain to fight the rest of the election on the economy.

He needs to propose an Economic Surge

First the bad news. McCain’s inner circle is remarkably light on shrewd economic advisors. McCain needs an economic message to hammer for the next 32 days. He needs someone who can help him develop a meaningful action plan to engage Obama’s breathtakingly irresponsible proposals, while offering voters a tax-cutting, growth-creating, dollar-strengthening anti-inflationary program of his own.

And he needs to do it immediately.

Who would I suggest to quarterback this? Someone McCain can trust to give him the ammunition and plan he needs. I think Rudy Giuliani would be perfect. He understands the economy and enjoys McCain’s trust.

Now the good news. An exciting package is possible. The only metric should be that a proposal provide both middle class relief and a juice to grow the economy.

So what might be in the program?

Beyond McCain’s existing economic commitments:

1. An additional middle class tax cut (perhaps via a cut on payroll taxes)

2. A flat tax of 15% on income withdrawals from retirement (IRA/401k) accounts to help retirees as well encouraging those saving for retirement to maximize their saving and investing.

3. A long-term capital gains holding period of 60 days rather than one year to unlock capital and promote capital formation.

4. A capital gains tax rate of zero or 5% on the first $50,000 of capital gains.

If John McCain unveils his economic surge on Monday, he could take it to the country and Obama during the second debate and make the opposing proposals the central debate for the rest of the campaign.

So of course McCain can win.

What do we do now?

That is the question that can and ought to be John McCain’s focus for the next 33 days, for it gives him the chance to contrast his ideas for strengthening the American economy through low taxes and entrepreneurship with the high tax, statist policies advocated by Obama.

Obama is breathtakingly irresponsible. Making his economic irresponsibility the center of the campaign will sink his entire candidacy.

This is NOT about calling Obama a liberal. That rhetorical trick died a long time ago. It IS about driving home the fact that under the Obama proposals, many small businesses will face effective tax rates of about fifty per cent when they hit $250,000 in profits.

The American people know that taking these profits out of the economy will crush job-creation and consumer spending. They just need to be reminded.

Obama’s proposals are destructive, and McCain needs to repeat this fact again and again. Penalizing those who would invest capital at the very moment we have seen the contraction of bank lending would inflict a devastating double blow on the economy.

We have a capital crisis already. Obama’s imposing additional taxes on those most able to bring new capital into the economy would be unbelievably harmful. That Obama said he would delay raising some taxes is no defense. McCain needs to point out that Obama’s position is that he wants to punish the most productive part of the economy and his “concession” is that’s he willing to wait a little while before he executes his condemned.

If McCain says, “now more than ever, in order to achieve a roaring economic recovery, we need to keep taxes low and wherever possible lower rates on individuals, businesses, dividends, and capital gains”, people will focus on the contrast between McCain’s good sense and Obama’s irresponsibility.

And the awareness of Obama’s economic irresponsibility will connect to other aspects of Obama’s recklessness.

His willingness to meet with Iran is irresponsible and endangers American interests.

His opposition to drilling and nuclear energy is irresponsible and endangers American interests.

And now his continuing addiction to massive tax increases, even in the face of the worst credit crisis in our lifetime is extremely irresponsible.

McCain can make this argument. If he does, he will win both the argument and the election.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, calling the market turmoil an economic Pearl Harbor,'' said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion proposal to prop up the U.S. financial system isabsolutely necessary.”

The market could not have taken another week'' like last week, Buffett told CNBC today, a day after saying his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will buy a $5 billion stake in Goldman Sachs Group Inc.I think it was the last thing Hank Paulson wanted to do, but there’s no Plan B for this.”

And:

I am betting on the Congress doing the right thing for the American public and passing this bill,'' Buffett said. The economy iseverybody’s problem,” he said, likening it to “a bathtub — you can’t have cold water in the front and hot water in the back.”

And:

“I certainly have a vote of confidence in Goldman and vote of confidence in Congress,” said Buffett, who is investing in the firm after it lost 40 percent of its market value in the past year.

I think Buffett and Cheney are right and Gingrich is wrong on this one. I am not happy about Bernanke’s yield to maturity bias, and I would prefer to allow private sector bidders to participate alongside the Treasury in this reverse auction process, but we have a credit crisis.

The credit markets are freezing up.

Auto loans are hard to come by, mortgages and refinancings are becoming scarce, and soon lines of credit for perfectly healthy small businesses are going to dry up. They won’t be able to pay suppliers and they won’t be able to meet payroll.

You can’t wish this stuff away because some of those who damaged the system are going to participate in its rescue. It may not be just, but neither is the fact that congressional miscreants like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd hold such important authority after their abysmal public conduct.

Today, one of the most accurate economic forecasters, Brian Wesbury offered an alternative to the bailout that is much less costly. While I think we now need some kind of bailout to prevent a collapse, Wesbury’s argument is compelling.

http://www.ftportfolios.com/Commentary/EconomicResearch/2008/9/22/heresaplantoavoidanew_rtc

Conservative Republicans can and should insist on this reform as part of any deal.

Let’s hope Senator Shelby makes this his non-negotiable demand. If he does, taxpayers never may need to buy $700 billion worth of assets.

If McCain thinks this is going to work, I’m afraid he and his advisors are really out of touch on how badly his vacuous economic populism is playing. It will be interesting to see how far he needs to slip in the polls before someone on his team makes the connection.

Why isn’t this at the center of McCain’s media message? Wake up Seargent Schmidt. You’re asleep at the wheel. 9/11 commissions and Wall Street greed. How lame and unimaginative.

McCain has been fight pork for years. Obama is a poster child for Democrat profligacy.

McCain’s fight for lower taxes is exactly what a troubled financial market needs. Obama wants to raise taxes wherever he can.

McCain fought the good fight against Fannie and Freddie. Obama was in the tank.

To wit from 2006:

“Mr. McCAIN: Mr. President, this week Fannie Mae’s regulator reported that the company’s quarterly reports of profit growth over the past few years were “illusions deliberately and systematically created” by the company’s senior management, which resulted in a $10.6 billion accounting scandal.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight’s report goes on to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae’s former chief executive officer, OFHEO’s report shows that over half of Mr. Raines’ compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was directly tied to meeting earnings targets. The report of financial misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit restatement at Freddie Mac.

The OFHEO report also states that Fannie Mae used its political power to lobby Congress in an effort to interfere with the regulator’s examination of the company’s accounting problems. This report comes some weeks after Freddie Mac paid a record $3.8 million fine in a settlement with the Federal Election Commission and restated lobbying disclosure reports from 2004 to 2005. These are entities that have demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform.

For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac –known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs–and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO’s report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO’s report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.”

This is a winning record. Please start using it.

Why isn’t this at the center of McCain’s media message? Wake up Seargent Schmidt. You’re asleep at the wheel. 9/11 commissions and Wall Street greed. How lame and unimaginative.

McCain has been fight pork for years. Obama is a poster child for Democrat profligacy.

McCain’s fight for lower taxes is exactly what a troubled financial market needs. Obama wants to raise taxes wherever he can.

McCain fought the good fight against Fannie and Freddie. Obama was in the tank.

To wit from 2006:

“Mr. McCAIN: Mr. President, this week Fannie Mae’s regulator reported that the company’s quarterly reports of profit growth over the past few years were “illusions deliberately and systematically created” by the company’s senior management, which resulted in a $10.6 billion accounting scandal.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight’s report goes on to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae’s former chief executive officer, OFHEO’s report shows that over half of Mr. Raines’ compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was directly tied to meeting earnings targets. The report of financial misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit restatement at Freddie Mac.

The OFHEO report also states that Fannie Mae used its political power to lobby Congress in an effort to interfere with the regulator’s examination of the company’s accounting problems. This report comes some weeks after Freddie Mac paid a record $3.8 million fine in a settlement with the Federal Election Commission and restated lobbying disclosure reports from 2004 to 2005. These are entities that have demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform.

For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac –known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs–and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO’s report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO’s report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.”

This is a winning record. Please start using it.

Why isn’t this at the center of McCain’s media message? Wake up Seargent Schmidt. You’re asleep at the wheel. 9/11 commissions and Wall Street greed. How lame and unimaginative.

McCain has been fight pork for years. Obama is a poster child for Democrat profligacy.

McCain’s fight for lower taxes is exactly what a troubled financial market needs. Obama wants to raise taxes wherever he can.

McCain fought the good fight against Fannie and Freddie. Obama was in the tank.

To wit from 2006:

“Mr. McCAIN: Mr. President, this week Fannie Mae’s regulator reported that the company’s quarterly reports of profit growth over the past few years were “illusions deliberately and systematically created” by the company’s senior management, which resulted in a $10.6 billion accounting scandal.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight’s report goes on to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae’s former chief executive officer, OFHEO’s report shows that over half of Mr. Raines’ compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was directly tied to meeting earnings targets. The report of financial misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit restatement at Freddie Mac.

The OFHEO report also states that Fannie Mae used its political power to lobby Congress in an effort to interfere with the regulator’s examination of the company’s accounting problems. This report comes some weeks after Freddie Mac paid a record $3.8 million fine in a settlement with the Federal Election Commission and restated lobbying disclosure reports from 2004 to 2005. These are entities that have demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform.

For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac –known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs–and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO’s report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO’s report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.”

This is a winning record. Please start using it.