Rensen's blog

This gem of idiocy was burried over the holidays what with terrorism and turkey on the menu, but it really is worth addressing.

One Curly Haugland, GOP chair of North Dakota is throwing his hat in the ring for RNC chair and fired a warning shot across the bow at other non RNC challengers and at Michael Steele in particular.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/27/steele-meeting-resistance-in-bid-for-rnc-post/

The above article in the Times includes such quackery as:

"In my estimation, 168 committed members of the Republican National Committee are a powerful army of qualified advocates for Republican principles; certainly much more threatening to the Democrats than one celebrity spokesman," Mr. Haugland said.
 

And:

"Your chosen path to leadership of the Republican National Committee exemplifies the problem we should immediately seek to resolve, that being the practice of allowing nonmembers to exert undue influence in the process of selecting our leaders" Mr. Haugland wrote Mr. Steele. "Getting the Republican Party back on the right 'track' is a job rightfully left to the Republicans who have been elected to run this railroad."
 

I found it very intersting to note that Curly's objections extend to others who HAVE been part of the RNC though not currently holding office.

Mr. Haugland said his objection to nonmembers seeking the RNC chairmanship applied also to Chip Saltsman, former Tennessee Republican Party chairman and campaign manager for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's presidential bid.

Meanwhile South Carolina GOP chair Katon Dawson (who also worked closely with Mike Huckabee on the election campaign of Glen McColl and on the front lines for SC's first black state legislator Tim Scott ) is under fire for of all things being a 'closet racist' in his country club membership???

Now call me stupid.. but I'm figuring that anybody with a brain in their head knows that dogging Steele in public right now, is about as benificial to your carreer in conservative politics, as dogging Palin during and after the election.

Curly has NO base in that RNC group, or support from influential voices in the movement outside it. He has no chance of winning that chairmanship. Which to me, begs the question, who stands to benfit the most from this 'insiders only' policy?

And wouldn't you know.. If Newt, Steele and Saltsman were out of the way.. one Saul Anuzis, GOP Chair for Michigan, (and a supporter and surrogate for Mitt Romney during the primaries) moves straight to the front of the line, becomming an almost shoe in for the spot.

He's been making the rounds gladhanding all the good ole boys, and has used his hard earned money to roll out with a splashy almost presidential campaign style website for his candidacy.

Now I won't go so far as to say that this is a Machievellian move by Mitt's surrogates to get his guy into the top spot, (Any more than I would say Huckabee is pulling the strings on Saltsman's candidacy, or that Newt may play kingmaker for Steele in exchange for his support in the future) These guys all have legitimate experience and resumes to challenge for the spot..but only the politically naieve don't see that every move fits into a bigger puzzle.

This IS politics people... and Curly is falling on his sword for somebody.. Because NOBODY is going to back him up on this ridiculous suggestion that 'more of the same' is going to lead the GOP out of the wilderness. He's officially dead to most conservatives. Which means somebody pretty important to someone must stand to reap the benifits of his political death.

Or he could just really be that dumb.

It will be very interesting to see how this power struggle plays out.

My money's still on Newt/Steele although my heart is definately with Huck/Saltsman

Politics is delicious.

I wonder if Saul thought no one would remember that he had endorsed Mitt, MI's homeboy during the primaries.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfG9O1YsD9A&eurl=http://forum.hucksarmy.com/viewtopic.php?f=141&t=17445

Looks like eveybody has a dog in this hunt now.

I know Saltsman, I trust Steele but it seems that Anuzis as a GOP chairman may have an in with that lot.

Still give the edge to Newt/Steele at this point in the game though.

Oy vey its gonna be a long four years.

Trust the MSM to cut off their nose to spite their face.

One thing that I came away with last night, especially in the CNN post win coverage, was a sense that they were elevating 'The new face of America' at the expense of the 'old'

They even went so far as to say that Joe the Plumber isn't the face of America anymore, (white) and that McCain made the mistake of thinking that he was. The joe the plumber surge was never about race, it was about the middle class, taxation and the battle between the ideology of socialism and capitalism.

Didn't they get the message when the black Jamaican woman and Tito the Builder shouted 'I am Joe The Plumber' to the press at one of McCain's rallies? The impression given was that 'white people are losing power' and they'd better learn to live with it.

As a black viewer I felt a chill go up my spine as I visualized the reactions of the white supremacist communities, as well as any 'typical white person' who may feel they are being marginalized, to that spin.

I would bet any amount of money that those groups are going to see a surge in membership, and we may have an escalation in hate crimes. Not because Obama won, but because the media wants to twist the knife into one community to lift up another.

Why can't we all just be Americans? I hope that Obama is able to build those bridges across party and race that he promised, or we could be in for a bumpy ride.  :|

On another note, if the Right wants to survive and have an active role in government in the future, it HAS to find a way to package conservatism in a manner that is attractive to our minority communities. That will begin by demonstrating to them that we want them to have a place at our table.

A good place to start, Michael Steele for RNC chair. Who better to plan how to harvest the minority vote for future elections, than one of their own community, and one with an outstanding conservative record as well.

Conservatism is not the ideology of old white men. It brings prosperity and opportunity for ALL, as Tito and Joe so eloquently pointed out.

Now we have to make the case.

That's not a hypothetical matchup folks, it happened this week on Monday night.

It didn't leave much of a paper trail in the MSM, But Huckabee and Huffington engaged in a vigorous debate as surrogates for McCain and Obama in Pennsylvania on the night before the second presidential debate.

On paper, given the clearly polar opposite natures of the worldviews these folks represent , this debate could have resulted in some serious fireworks, (which I'm sure was the intended appeal of the event) but Huckabee and Huffington rose to the occasion with a civil but vigourous debate on the issues. To be honest, there were more on target, real honest to God townhall style questions answered in this debate than in the presidential one which followed Tuesday night

The debate took place before a dinner for business owners and was telecast on t.v. and radio across the state. Live feedback from phone in commentators after the debate revealed an appreciation for the civil nature of the debate, and showcased a number of undecideds who now lean McCain after Huckabee's sterling performance as a surrogate in this context.

Click on the 'Election 08' tab on the following link to view the video of the debate in its entirity. You will need quicktime to view it.

http://www.pcntv.com/pcn_online.html

There is no doubt in my mind that Huckabee could have gone toe to toe with Obama in these presidential debates, wiped the floor and sqeezed out the rag. As it is, McCain is well advised to continue to use him in a surrogate capacity in those blue collar swing states.

If anyone out there knows how to get this debate recorded in a format that can be loaded to You Tube... Do it!! I'd love to be able to email links that may be more user friendly.

Obama was alarmingly 'normal' tonight.

A democrat spewing the democratic policy talking points yes, but certainly no more alarming than a Clinton or any other democrat seeking the presidency.

Therin lies the danger. I think we're almost at the point of no return in trying to turn this thing around on policy differences and 'the issues'

It appears the country doesn't want to hear it.. and the independents who will decide this thing want 'change'

If Obama is no more dangerous than a Clinton or even, God forbid a Carter, America will probably survive his presidency relatively unchanged at its core.

If however, we are not a bunch of crazy right wing dittoheads swallowing propoganda and seeing conspiracies where there is only an ambitious politician doing whatever he needed to do the climb the ranks and win, then this is what we're dealing with:

I just watched a video about Kenyan presidential candidate and Obama cousin, Ralia Odinga and the violence he encouraged in Kenya, and saw what appeared to be images of Obama campaigning for him.

<!-- m -->http://contributors.blogsome.com/2008/1 ... -of-kenya/<!-- m -->

Either we're 'crazy' (or brainwashed right wing dittoheads) and making connections that don't exist, and Obama is as 'center left 'and 'safe' as he portrays himself to be, or he is truly a manchurian candidate, sinister, deceptive, the 'centrist' face man of a radical far left movement, and deliberately executing what is essentially a bloodless revolution that can change America as we know it.

Which is it? If its the latter, then McCain has to fight like this country is on the line, and I don't know if he's prepared to do that, because it will take getting dirty, and yes, not shaking hands at debates with terrorist sympathizers.

McCain will not win on the issues.. it is too late for that. Obama has packaged his 'change' in language that will sway most non politicos. This has to be a referendum on Obama's cahracter. Opportunity was lost on a national platform tonight. He will have to take his message to the swing states and hope it sticks.

If it turns out that BO is really a socialist muslim revolutionary who is not even an American citizen, who is trying to hijack the presidency just so that he can change America into a post christian new age Europe and set the stage for an Islamic radicalized African continent,

If that is what we're dealing with... somebody needs to do something to turn this ship around, or the Mccain campaig'ns lack of performance will go down in infamy for its role in the downfall of this nation.

If that description is a caricature and not the real Obama, BHO will go down as one of the most smeared and maligned candidates for the presidency in history.

I'm having great difficulty resolving the 'two faces of Obama'

For all our sakes I hope he is not as sinister as he seems to be once one digs past the surface rhetoric.

Is there really no longer freedom of the press in this nation?

Earlier today an article was posted on rightside news at the following link:

http://www.rightsidenews.com/2008100...ection-08.html

11 minutes later it was taken down. I'm assuming if it no longer 'exists' that its not copyright infringement to blog its entirity. If it is, then I'll take this one down too, so you may want to copy for your own personal use.

This is the untold story of the Obama protests that disrupted Palin's presentation on the day that she first went on the attack re Obama's Ayers connection referencing the New York Times article. The MSM reported the presence of the protesters and her reaction to them, but not what or how they were protesting. The writer further makes the connection between the attitudes of those protestors and the political pagentry taking place in some African countires, and states there may be video evidence available that supports the cliam that Obama campaigned for the worst sort of socialist in Kenya's Ralia Odinga, (whose supporters formented violence in the streets in suppport of their candidate)

In an interesting subplot, Kenyan officers today arrested Jerome Corsi who was in the country to do a big 'reveal' presser on the relationship between Obama and Odinga, which only draws attention to the story they may have been trying to bury.

http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=77268

There were live links to video in the original rightside news story. Folks in the netroots are trying to find the direct links as I type, as the veracity of the video may be the key to why the story was pulled. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

For what its worth Here's the story:

"NO USA" Chants in Carson City defining moment in Election '08
Sarah Palin Rally, Obama supporters
By Judi McLeod

Monday, October 6, 2008

On weekends when even Internet giants like the Drudge Report and FoxNews.com seem to be on skeleton staff, theodoresworld.net is wide awake. So it was courtesy of Theodore's World, sent to Canada Free Press by stalwart Dave Hollenbeck, that we got to see what I consider to be, the defining moment of Election 08.

That defining moment happened at Carson City, California, where Sarah Palin addressed throngs of an estimated 20,000 at the tennis stadium at the Home Depot Center.

The throngs who showed up to see and hear Republican Vice President candidate Sarah Palin were chanting, "USA! USA!"

Obama supporters on the same scene fomenting for revolution were chanting "No USA! "No USA!"

In that moment in Carson City, the difference between John McCain and Barack Obama supporters could not have been any starker.

But as usual when the mainstream media covered the story, it was only to turn it around.

Carson City, Calif. is the place where Palin went on the attack, starting on Obama's connection to domestic terrorist William Ayers and others, to a wildly cheering crowd.

Don't expect to see any alarms raised about the "No USA!" chant by the mainstream media. They were too busy reporting on the Bruce Springsteen "Bush Bash" going on at the same time in Philadelphia.

Sarah Palin accused Barack Obama of "palling around with terrorists".

Here's what AP had to say about Palin's criticism of Obama's connection to Ayers: "By claiming that Democrat Barack Obama is "palling around with terrorists" and doesn't see the U.S. like other Americans, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin targeted key goals for a faltering campaign.

"And though she may have scored a political hit each time, her attack was unsubstantiated and carried a racially tinged subtext that John McCain himself may come to regret."

In a media world where the lies of Barack Obama routinely go unchallenged, it is now "racist" to tell the American people the truth.

Back at Carson City's Home Depot Center, sheriffs escorted out five or six Obamabots as the crowds were chanting "USA!" USA!"

"Sarah riffed on one, saying something like, "We fight for their freedoms as well". (The) crowd loved it." ( theodoresworld.net, Oct. 5, 2008).

In election campaigns as intense as Election '08, it can be confusing for people, particularly when so many in the mainstream media have abandoned any pretense of fairness and balance.

To understand what is going on in the USA 30 days before election, we only have to turn to The video that could cost Obama the election. (here).

The video shows how Obama used his elected office-and taxpayers' dollars-to support a man like Kenya's Raila Odinga, self touted as "Your Agent for Change".
Obama supporters in Carson City chanted "No USA!" Odinga supporters in Kenya, brandished machetes and chanted "No Peace!"

Human Rights Watch states that Odinga's Socialist Orange Democratic Movement "actively fomented post-election violence" when Raila lost by 231,728 votes.
In Kenya, allegations of vote rigging came before a single ballot was ever cast.

(Leftists and Obama supporters are already saying that SNOPES denies the veracity of the Odinga/Obama video.

But as Hollenbeck points out, "it wouldn't be the first time that SNOPES said something was untrue that I KNEW was true!")

Like the Artful Dodger of contemporary politics, Obama has wormed his way past the media and the American electorate at almost every opportunity.

There have been countless pictures of Obama throughout the campaign, most recently in the form of a short dress worn by a model on a Paris runway. But the picture that best portrays Barack Obama is captured on The Video that could cost Obama the election. It is a picture of Obama campaigning for Odinga with a megaphone!

Agents of change like Odinga and Obama are part of an all encompassing plan to force the populations of two once stable nations under the heel of soul-killing Communism.

In Soviet Subversion of the Free Press, a conversation with Yuri Bezmenov, it is explained in plain enough English how the useful idiots working against America today will be treated in the closing chapters of the takeover. 
 Bezmenov mentions useful idiots active since the 1960s, and in particular useful idiot Jane Fonda, now out on the hustings stumping for Obama.

"In future these people will be squashed like cockroaches. They're not going to be paid for their noble ideas."

Vote rigging began in Kenya before the first votes were ever cast. The New York Post says, "Voter fraud is expected to be rampant" in Election 08.

If the Federal Elections Commission cannot clamp down on voter fraud by ACORN, the next stage of Ideological Subversion goes into action in what is arguably the greatest nation on earth.

God protect Americans from Obama and Marxist-Leninism in the Land of the Free!

It's been pretty gloomy around here as folks succumb to 'is it over?' brooding. McCain was able to CLOSE on Obama by as much as 4-5 points even while the market fell through the floor.

Obama is trying to hold a lead when he should be leaps and bounds ahead. A good showing from Palin and continued hammering of the connection between the dems and the meltdown could help. But we must NOT shoot ourselves in the foot by ragging on McCain if he decides to sign this bill. We need EVERY vote, and will have to try to find the silver lining if there is one to sweeten the bitter pill.

PRINCETON, NJ -- The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update of registered voters finds Barack Obama at 48%, and John McCain at 44%, marking a slight narrowing of the race from the eight percentage point margin Obama held earlier this week

http://www.gallup.com/poll/110881/Gallup-Daily-Obama-48-McCain-44.aspx

More at the link.

This political and economic environment is tailor made for Obama to begin pulling away, which he seemed to be doing. yet McCain closed the gap by 4 in a week that could not have been any worse for Mccain if he tried.

I wonder if the You Tube videos linking the meltdown to the democrats and Obama are beginning to make themselves felt.

The creepy kids singing video should make a dent too.

Get on your knees for the debate tomorrow. I really do think some independents are moving away from McCain because they can't see Palin filling his shoes. She needs to be presidential tomorrow night. 

If McCain can stay within the margin of error till election day, he has a chance. Most pundits think Obama needs a six point lead or more on election day to have a chance at winning.

And regarding the most recent ABC / Wapo poll a blogger points out

http://www.hingeoffate.com/?p=208 (links in the post)

Last week Obama was up by nine in the ABC/Washington Post poll and it was front page news. This week Obama is up by 4, within 1 point of the margin of error and the poll cannot be found. Instead the story is Bush’s approval rating which finds a new low in this poll.

Interestingly the internals of the poll are difficult to find. I have been unable to find the party ID of those polled. I don’t image there was much change from last week when the poll was heavily skewed toward Obama.

McCain’s gains this week come on the economy where is plus three and Obama is down 3 for a 6 point swing. McCain also gained 10 points on who could better work across party lines, where he is now only 3 points behind Obama. This is evidence that McCain’s strategy of going to Washington to work on the economic crisis may yet pay off

Wow.. GAINS on the economy??!!

Interesting.

This isn't over unless we break and accept that its over, and the stakes are too high to do that.

The much anticipated show of the former governor of Arkansas and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, premiered as an oaisis of reason during the frenzied 24 hour coverage of the Bailout madness on Capitol Hill this weekend, and amidst the furious post presidential debate spin.

 Fox premiered its new show 'Huckabee', after a two hour debate analysis special of Hannity and Colmes which should have secured a fairly strong retention of viewership, if the feverish anticipation of Huckabee's election supporter base would not have been enough in and of itself to secure good ratings.

The show featured the innovative format of an unscripted audience 'townhall style' Q and A along with more traditional elements of talk shows like the requisite host monologue and guest segments.

A few things stood out to viewers and new fans of the show. Huckabee did not make himself the 'star' of the show. He was a brilliant facilitator, in the sense that he actually allowed his guests to fully answer questions or make commentary without interruption; a lesson that the Hannity's and O'Riley's of the talk world would be well advised to learn. As a result there was almost no crosstalk to devolve into a shouting match, and the feeling tone of the entire show was much more reminiscent of an Oprah or Ellen sit down than a pundit's sound off. He was warm, personable and funny without being over the top.

This is not to say that the show was not substantive. It was very much so. The segment with Elizabeth Hasselback of The View, which could have had the potential to devolve into a fluff piece about her role on the show, actually featured the roll out of the now infamous God ____ America clip of Rev. Wright as the set up for Elizabeth's commentary of her interrogation of Obama for his relationship with Wright on an episode of The View. Without sensationalizing or editorializing about Obama himself, Huckabee provided a forum for a discussion of some of the concerns that association raised. This was significant, mainly because to date, Rev. Wright has been off the table for discussion during the campaign, and the inclusion of the clip could provoke an outcry from hardcore Obama supporters.

The segment signaled two things, Huckabee will not be afraid to take on controversial subjects, and that while he will be 'vertical' or positive and forward looking in his commentary, he is still a conservative. This first guest spot was clearly a red meat nod to the base.

Also featured in this opening show was some substantive economic commentary by a first rate line up of guests: Alexis Glick, producer of one of the Fox business shows, David Ramsey, popular host of his own business show, and Geraldine Ferrarro, whose role was to give some congressional perspective on what might be going on behind closed doors during the bailout talks.

While there was a sense of urgency about the need of the bailout package discussed, it was with distinctly comforting overtones. Ferraro pointed out that we've made money on previous similar deals, Ramsey postulated that the world did not come to an end when no deal was brokered by Friday, and Glick redirected attention to the root cause of the problem which she tied to the Democrat sponsored and pushed Community Reinvestment Act. Huckabee himself proposed the stimulation of the economy via the elimination of the capital gains tax as one example of something that could be part of a non-bailout package which he is deeply opposed to.

Interspersed between segments and ads, were the audience interaction segments where audience members were able to direct questions to both Mike and the guests at different points in the program. The connectivity and authenticity of those moments are sure to be a major part of the appeal of this show, and I think those moments should be increased, even if it means cutting the length of one of the guest segments.

The creation of the Fox news house band was a stroke of genius. There is a certain appeal to seeing folks you have known in front of the camera in one capacity, in another. Especially if they actually have talent. Further, by reaching out into the Fox family and giving them a sense of 'ownsership' in the program, Huckabee will begin to neutralize some of the resistance that there may have been to him there in some quarters. Make no mistake, Huckabee will run for office again someday, probably for president. He's young enough to wait 20 years if he has to, and as we have seen this election, things are so much easier when you're not fighting the media all the way through the process.

While no details have yet surfaced about how the show did ratings wise, or in MSM commentary, feedback in the netroots has been positive where discussion has been taking place. The consensus was that an hour of Huckabee is not enough.

Following are a sample of some of the comments posted to Huckabee's PAC blog and on other message boards around the web.

We had --actually still having--a "watch party" for Huckabee. The best description comes from a neighbor who was not a Huckabee supporter during the primary. He said it was about time there was a talk show host who was not only smart and funny but also kind. If he had known more about Mike during the primaries, he would have voted for him instead of Thompson.

Loved Huck's new show and the first place I went was to shoot an email to Fox letting them know it was GREAT!! I also ps that the band idea, pulling folks from Fox with all different types of jobs there was pure genius!! Like America, diverse!!! Loved the question section at the beginning where Mike just answered off the cuff. He is so good at that!!! Loved the interview with Elizabeth. The bailout disucssion seemed a little rushed (everyone tried to talk too long), but other than the fact that maybe Fox needs to give Mike 2 hours instead of one, it was GREAT!!! I will be watching tomorrow night when I have folks coming over for dinner. We are having a "Huckabee" party.

Didn't really know what to expect from the show, but I thought the whole format was very well conceived and executed. There wasn't a moment of the show where I felt uninterested in. I like the fact that Mike lets his guests speak without interrupteing them (e.g. Hannity). The economic discussion was excellent except that I wished it had gone on a bit longer so the guests could have debated the subject a bit more in depth (darn time constraints). Wasn't sure what to expect from the band, but they were pretty good too.

 

My dad and I watched the show and enjoyed it very much.

loved the question and answer part. the response to the question about barrowing from a 401 to pay off high credit bill. was one that our family had struggled with the thought of. glad to find the answer, before we made the mistake. Thanks.

Almost 100 comments have been posted to the pac blog thus far, and I'm sure many more will come once the Sunday night viewers get their opportunity to experience the show first hand. If you haven't had the opportunity to catch the show, do so. The repeat showing should air at 8pm ET tonight assuming that news of a deal on the bailout doesn't trump regular programming.

Former members of the Huckabee campaign observed to an attendee at the taping yesterday, that the show was not scheduled to begin airing until Janurary, obviously the Fox bigwigs know a cash cow when they see one. Huckabee will be very profitable for the network if his track record of maximum reward with limited investment holds true.

The full tale has yet to be told, but as a first at bat, 'Huckabee' definately makes a solid base hit.

His Handmaiden

Links to review commetary

http://my.huckpac.com/?FuseAction=Blogs.View&Blog_id=1904