He’s spent $38 in gas – in two months! (He’s home a lot these days.) See how, and see what Bob thinks of his new Volt, his fire insurance, and what it’s like to stay home most of the time!

The wondrous Chevy Volt, and the enlightened President Obama: that’s a team with the smallest amount of gas in the 2012 race. Check out their explosive new ad campaign at ObamaVolt2012.com

He’s spent $38 in gas – in two months! (He’s home a lot these days.) See how, and see what Bob thinks of his new Volt, his fire insurance, and what it’s like to stay home most of the time!

The wondrous Chevy Volt, and the enlightened President Obama: that’s a team with the smallest amount of gas in the 2012 race. Check out their explosive new ad campaign at ObamaVolt2012.com

Re-posted from  PJ Media

Could Nevada be the new Florida in determining the winner of the 2012 presidential election?  If Mitt Romney is the Republican nominee (and, yes, he is still is on track despite Rick Santorum’s surge) my hunch is Nevada will be the mother of all battleground states and here’s why.

Click on this map and you will see how Romney red wins with 272 electoral votes while Obama blue loses with 262.

However, the latest Real Clear Politics (RCP) average shows Obama leading Romney by 4.2%. This RCP poll average is growing in Obama’s favor. It was bumped up by two full points recently with the latest unemployment rate dipping to 8.3% which the Obama-loving press played up to sound like the rate had just dropped below 5%. Additionally, Obama’s growing lead could also be a signal how the GOP primary battle is hurting Romney’s chances. Unfortunately, this battle does not look like it will end anytime soon.

With all that in mind, click on this map to see how RCP views the national electoral landscape. It gives Obama a decisive 217 to 181 advantage right at the starting gate.

My Republican electoral victory theory with Nevada as the last grand prize is based on five important battleground states all turning to Romney. If any one of these five are won again by President Obama it’s game over, four more years.

The five, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana are what I fondly call the red rogue states. Together they account for 86 electoral votes.

In 2008 Obama swept them all, while in 2000 and 2004 they all went for Bush.

For the sake of my fantasy theory, assume Romney is successful in these five red rogue states. Then, add their 86 electoral totals to the 180 electoral votes from the 2008 McCain states. Fortunately for the Republicans, the 2008 McCain states gained a net of six electoral votes in 2012.

(Texas gained four, while Utah, Arizona, Georgia and South Carolina each gained one. Missouri and Louisiana each lost one.)

Add 86 to 180 and Romney is at 266. So close yet so far.

Enter Nevada with six electoral votes up from five in 2008.

In 2008 Obama won it, 55% to McCain’s 43%. Bush in 2004 barely won Nevada 51% to Kerry’s 48%. Then in 2000 Bush was stronger against Gore, 50% to 46%.

Those six electoral votes from Nevada bring Romney to 272 and a seat in the Oval office. (270 are needed to win)

Why do I think Nevada is winnable for Romney given Obama’s 12 point victory there in 2008?  Here are a few reasons.

First, Nevada’s Mormon population is 6.5%. If they vote in a block, which is most likely, that gives Romney a huge boost up front.

Second, Nevada has the nation’s highest unemployment rate at 12.6% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Will Obama’s 2008 hope and change leave Nevada voters hoping for another change in the Oval Office?

Third, are voter registration statistics.

According to the office of the Nevada Secretary of State in January 2012 there were 447,881 registered Democrats and 400,310 Republicans — roughly 10% more Democrats. Then factor in 172,463 non-partisan voters and 48,972 independents for a combined total of 221,435 “up for grabs” voters.

With Nevada’s high unemployment rate is it plausible that 65% of the 221,435 non-aligned voters could break for Romney, leaving 35% for Obama?

If so, that means Romney wins 544,242 to Obama’s 525,383. This assumes all the registered Republican and Democrat voters stay with their party, which of course will not happen, but just how much crossover to expect is difficult to predict at this time. However, you get the idea what it will take for Romney to win.

(Note: there are a total of 1,082,705 registered voters in Nevada. Green, Libertarian, and other comprise 13,079 which are not included in these totals mentioned above. However, if all 13,079 voted for Obama that would bring him to 538,462 compared to Romney’s 544,242.)

Any way you slice it, the general election in Nevada will be a nail biter, maybe even on the scale of Florida in 2000 without the hanging chads. But, considering these three factors Romney could be positioned to pull off a victory.

Here is my favorite Republican victory equation for 2012:

McCain’s 2008 states with net six, plus five red rogue states, plus Nevada’s six with 65% independent vote  = 272

Now I know what some of you are thinking, “There is another way for this equation to work,” so here it is.

Let’s say Obama wins Nevada, or rather the unions and Senator Harry Reid “win Nevada” for Obama. Fortunately for Romney, there is another influential little state, where he has a vacation home that just happens to have the last four electoral vote pieces he needs to complete the White House puzzle.

So let’s try this equation once again…  McCain’s 2008 states with net six, plus five red rogue states, plus New Hampshire’s four electoral votes = 270.

Then you might imagine how “Live Free or Die” — New Hampshire’s famous Revolutionary War slogan, will be infused with new meaning on election night.

Sure Mitt Romney won a “landslide” in Florida tonight according to the Drudge Report headline at this moment, but was it really? Here are some numbers to consider: Romney won 46% of the vote BUT when 32% for Gingrich is combined with 13% for Santorum the total is 45% for the conservative team and suddenly Romney’s “landslide” disappears.

You can expect to hear Gingrich spout this line of thinking. He will use it as one of the reasons he will stay in the race, fight to the finish and why he thinks Santorum should drop out.

The 45% conservative vote vs. 46% for Romney proves once again just how polarized the GOP is in 2012.

When Romney eventually becomes the official nominee uniting the conservative wing will be his most difficult undertaking as the new party leader.

That is a problem Romney must successfully address if he is to prevail against Obama and one that Obama is counting on Romney to not solve.

Re-posted from PJMedia

Recently, I attended an event where a new 2012 Fisker Karma sports car was on display. Up until this time I had never heard of a Fisker Karma and after looking at the price tag I know why. It was a shocking $112,000. The Fisker Karma, manufactured by Fisker Automotive, looks like it should have a starring role in a Mission Impossible movie. It is a sleek cutting edge masterpiece of Finnish manufacturing.

Apparently sales have been brisk.  Great news I say!  After all, this is America where an awesome car made in Finland equals a new status toy for the one percent… or in this case more like the one half of one percent.

As I was ogling the car, my friend told me the Fisker company received a US government loan to help with the design of the car’s electric battery.

It turns out the Fisker Karma is a “green” electric car and part of Obama’s energy/manufacturing plan to lead our nation out of the “Great Recession.”

Fisker Automotive, a California based company with an  Al Gore venture capital firm connection was given a $529 million loan from the Department of Energy to provide manufacturing jobs and produce these high-tech electric cars.

But there is only one problem — the cars are built in Finland.

Why Finland?

Here is the answer provided by Fisker Automotive company founder Henri Fisker. “There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle,” he told ABC News  “They don’t exist here.”

Given the dismal state of U.S. manufacturing, Fisker’s statement does not surprise me. But what does surprise and infuriate me is $529 million of our hard earned tax money went into building this lavish product that only one half of one percent of our population could ever dream of driving.

Tuesday night when President Obama gave his State of the Union message he conveniently forgot to include this tawdry tale of economic excellence in his “America is Back” themed speech.

Obama-nomics means the smallest fraction of the population — the same ones Obama says need to pay more taxes — now have the opportunity to pay $112,000 for sporty new set of electric wheels. Meanwhile, the rest of us already paid $529 million for a car we have never heard of, let alone can afford, while the Fins got the jobs.

The Republican leaders in Congress missed a poignant message opportunity.

Outside the Capitol building there should have been a 2012 Fisker Karma on display with a windshield-sized $112,000 price tag easily read by the television cameras. Then, instead of the Republican response to The State of the Union address, they should have held a press conference featuring this gorgeous electric car of the future.

This would have made a terrific impact, illustrating Obama’s disastrous Energy Department loan policies, taxpayer waste and the declining state of American manufacturing.

To jumpstart sales should Obama buy a new Fisker Karma for Michelle?

Given the six figure price tag I have a feeling she would be too embarrassed to drive it.

In years past, I’ve chosen to forego attending President Obama’s annual State of the Union speech, and instead focused on interacting with my constituents through live, virtual town halls while I watched the speech in my office. This wasn’t out of disrespect, but because I wanted to see real-time responses from Georgians and to get their ideas for what might jumpstart our economy.

This year, I decided to attend the State of the Union in hopes that the president might have learned something from his failed policies and for a change in direction in this particular speech. I went with my colleagues to the House floor and awaited the president’s arrival, hoping that he would deliver a speech that would give us real, honest solutions to get our economy going and create jobs outside of government.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Last night, we got nothing more than a campaign speech from President Obama that outlined his plans to further divide America for political gain. The State of the Union revolved around raising taxes, increasing spending, and enacting more government regulations – nearly all in conflict with the original intent of our Constitution.

President Obama, his administration, and most of my Democrat colleagues have it all wrong. More taxes, more spending and more government regulation will never be the solutions to our fiscal crisis. Real American growth and lasting prosperity will only prevail through the successes of the private sector. The president’s “Blueprint for an America Built to Last” has a serious, fundamental flaw: You can’t build a sturdy structure on a cracked foundation.

Read More →

In years past, I’ve chosen to forego attending President Obama’s annual State of the Union speech, and instead focused on interacting with my constituents through live, virtual town halls while I watched the speech in my office. This wasn’t out of disrespect, but because I wanted to see real-time responses from Georgians and to get their ideas for what might jumpstart our economy.

This year, I decided to attend the State of the Union in hopes that the president might have learned something from his failed policies and for a change in direction in this particular speech. I went with my colleagues to the House floor and awaited the president’s arrival, hoping that he would deliver a speech that would give us real, honest solutions to get our economy going and create jobs outside of government.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Last night, we got nothing more than a campaign speech from President Obama that outlined his plans to further divide America for political gain. The State of the Union revolved around raising taxes, increasing spending, and enacting more government regulations – nearly all in conflict with the original intent of our Constitution.

President Obama, his administration, and most of my Democrat colleagues have it all wrong. More taxes, more spending and more government regulation will never be the solutions to our fiscal crisis. Real American growth and lasting prosperity will only prevail through the successes of the private sector. The president’s “Blueprint for an America Built to Last” has a serious, fundamental flaw: You can’t build a sturdy structure on a cracked foundation.

Read More →

Sometimes the events in the political realm  causes this throbbing to occur in my head. Usually it is fine, since these events are fleeting and all I have to do is turn the television off, listen to music, eat a ding-dong and think happy thoughts.  The events of the last 10 days have managed to create a constant throbbing that even music by the Marconi Union cannot soothe.

Let us start with the two South Carolina debates. While watching, I was put off by the cheering. It is a debate not a hockey game. It wasn’t just the cheering, it was what the people were cheering about. They whooped and hollered at comments that made absolutely no sense. On display for the country to see was behavior by those in my party, best explained by Anne Coulter, when describing liberals, as mob mentality.

The more caustic or snide the remark, the louder the audience cheered. There is a lot of anger in the country and candidates would be remiss if they did not try to tap into this to garnish support, but they must do so responsibly, something lacking in those debates.  In the second debate the crowd was whipped up into such a frenzy all rational conduct went out the window.

During the first debate in Florida, the crowd remained subdued. In that atmosphere Newt Gingrich’s comments fell flat. Why? People actually had time to comprehend what he said. Even more important, they listened to the replies. Whether it was from Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney or Ron Paul, it became clear that Newt’s rhetoric did not match the facts. It was proven he did lobby for Freddie Mac, he does behave erratically and he was thrown out of his position as Speaker of the House.

What happened the next day?

The disgraced former Speaker went on the talk circuit complaining that the audience was not allowed to cheer for him. He threatened to pull out of the next debate if the people were not allowed to behave like a raucous mob.  He has put the media “on notice” he will not tolerate the suppression of free speech. As an “historian” he knows darn well it is not suppression of free speech to request a private audience to behave respectfully. The facts do not matter to him, he is playing to the mob mentality. He claims  if he is the nominee, he will tell the Commission on Presidential Debates to change their rule requiring the audience to remain silent.

Can you see him threatening to pull out of those debates?

President Obama will be really bothered by that threat, won’t he?

It will be interesting to see what tomorrow’s debate brings.

Now for the second source of my pounding head.

No, it is not Jack Daniels.

It was President Obama’s State of the Union Speech.

Yes, it was the typical SOTU speech; long, boring and a laundry list of desires. Unlike most SOTU speeches, however, it was also candidate Obama’s campaign kick off speech:

But in return, we need to change our tax code so that people like me, and an awful lot of Members of Congress, pay our fair share of taxes. Tax reform should follow the Buffett rule: If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes. And my Republican friend Tom Coburn is right: Washington should stop subsidizing millionaires. In fact, if you’re earning a million dollars a year, you shouldn’t get special tax subsidies or deductions. On the other hand, if you make under $250,000 a year, like 98 percent of American families, your taxes shouldn’t go up. You’re the ones struggling with rising costs and stagnant wages. You’re the ones who need relief.

It is clear, as the President tries to distance himself from the occupy movement, he is clearly pandering to them.

I did get some relief  last night, it came in the form of the response to the SOTU by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, this was my favorite part:

The extremism that stifles the development of homegrown energy, or cancels a perfectly safe pipeline that would employ tens of thousands, or jacks up consumer utility bills for no improvement in either human health or world temperature, is a pro-poverty policy.  It must be replaced by a passionate pro-growth approach that breaks all ties and calls all close ones in favor of private sector jobs that restore opportunity for all and generate the public revenues to pay our bills.

That means a dramatically simpler tax system of fewer loopholes and lower rates.  A pause in the mindless piling on of expensive new regulations that devour dollars that otherwise could be used to hire somebody.  It means maximizing on the new domestic energy technologies that are the best break our economy has gotten in years.

There is a second item on our national must-do list: we must unite to save the safety net. Medicare and Social Security have served us well, and that must continue.  But after half and three quarters of a century respectively, it’s not surprising that they need some repairs.   We can preserve them unchanged and untouched for those now in or near retirement, but we must fashion a new, affordable safety net so future Americans are protected, too.

Just as my headache started to subside, I remembered it was Rush Limbaugh who chased this man out of the primaries before they even began. Time for another ding-dong.

Read More →

Re-posted from PJMedia

MITT ROMNEY ANNOUNCES SUPPORT OF VIRGINIA GOVERNOR BOB MCDONNELL

OK Red State fans, let’s have some fun and read between the lines of this press release.

Boston, MA – Mitt Romney today announced the support of Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell.

Some of you may remember that back in early November I predicted in this PJM piece that when McDonnell announced his support for Romney the presses would start rolling with Romney/McDonnell bumper stickers and yard signs.

Sure, Mitt Romney has had a bad week, but I stand firm that he will be the nominee and McDonnell his running mate.  This press release is glowing with praise for McDonnell, who is a popular governor of a very important battleground state that Romney must win in order to reach 270 electoral votes. McDonnell also has a conservative profile that perfectly fits into Romney’s campaign message machine.

“Governor McDonnell’s leadership in Virginia is an example for the rest of the nation,” said Mitt Romney. “Governor McDonnell has used the conservative principles of keeping taxes and spending low and creating a fair regulatory climate to make Virginia a top destination for job creators. These same principles can be used in Washington to fix our economy and make government accountable to the taxpayers. I am proud to have his support and look forward to working with Governor McDonnell.”

“As I have said throughout this primary process, we need a governor to serve as our next president,” said Governor McDonnell. “America needs leadership and that’s what governors do: they lead. Governors actually have to find solutions and bring all parties together in order to get results for their citizens – they can’t just sit back and cast votes. Mitt Romney has been an effective leader his entire life, in business, the Olympics and as governor. President Obama’s lack of leadership experience is now clear – he has failed to turn around the economy and end the gridlock in Washington. Mitt Romney used his leadership ability in a politically difficult environment to balance the budget every year, cut spending and taxes, and create jobs. He is a results-oriented conservative. This is the type of record that conservatives like me are honored to support – we need a leader like Mitt Romney in the White House to enact effective change that will put our country back on the right path and Americans back to work.”

Translation: Since I am limited to only one 4 year term I will soon be looking for a new job and VP would be a very nice promotion. However, I will not provide the late night comics or You Tube with as much material as the current Vice-President. Please accept my apology for being boring, competent and presidential.

Background On Governor McDonnell:

Governor Bob McDonnell Was Elected In 2009.

McDonnell totally embarrassed Obama and the Democrats in November of 2009, with his landslide victory in a former red state that Obama turned blue in 2008.

Note to David Axelrod:  If McDonnell is on the GOP ticket, you just lost 13 electoral votes and a Senate seat.

Prior to his election, McDonnell served as Virginia’s Attorney General and as a Delegate representing Virginia’s 84th District in Virginia Beach. Governor McDonnell is an Army Veteran who served his country for 21 years. Governor McDonnell is the current Chairman of the Republican Governors Association.

As RGA Chairman, McDonnell has a natural platform to appear in the media blasting Obama and raising his national profile.  Army veteran too! What’s not to like?

Now PLEASE can we just wrap this whole thing up in Florida and get on with it.  Newt is driving us nuts.