Newt’s Declaration of Energy Independence

by on

“Contrary to popular belief, America has more energy than any nation on earth. All that’s keeping us from becoming energy independent is a lack of political will to do so.” – Newt Gingrich

Today’s high gas and energy prices are entirely a function of bad government policies. Newt has an American Energy Plan that would maximize energy production from all sources–oil, natural gas, wind, biofuels, nuclear, clean coal, and more–and would encourage clean energy innovation without discouraging overall energy production.

Newt’s American Energy Plan:

[list type="tick"] [li]

  • Remove bureaucratic and legal obstacles to responsible oil and natural gas development in the United States, offshore and on land.
  • End the ban on oil shale development in the American West, where we have three times the amount of oil as Saudi Arabia.
  • Give coastal states federal royalty revenue sharing to give them an incentive to allow offshore development.
  • Reduce frivolous lawsuits that hold up energy production by enacting loser pays laws to force the losers in an environmental lawsuit to pay all legal costs for the other side.
  • Finance cleaner energy research and projects with new oil and gas royalties.
  • Replace the Environmental Protection Agency, which has become a job-killing regulatory engine of higher energy prices, with an Environmental Solutions Agency that would use incentives and work cooperatively with local government and industry to achieve better environmental outcomes while considering the impact of federal environmental policies on job creation and the cost of energy.

[/li] [/list]

The Do-Nothing Senate

by on

From the Wall Street Journal:

 

Back in the dog days of George W. Bush’s second term, when each month seemed to bring new lows for the president’s approval ratings, there was almost always this consolation: The surveys would show that Congress was even less popular than he was.

In general, that’s going to be the advantage an executive enjoys over a collective body such as a legislature. Hence the decision by Barack Obama to take a page out of Harry Truman’s 1948 playbook and campaign for re-election against a “do-nothing Congress.” Given his record, it may be his wisest course.

It’s also a gift to Republicans—if the party’s presidential nominee has enough wit to turn it to his advantage.

Let’s take the politics first. However useful the “do-nothing Congress” theme may be for Mr. Obama, it’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of Harry Reid in an election when the Democratic majority he enjoys in the Senate is up for grabs. To the contrary, it opens the door for Republicans to turn the tables in a way that squeezes Mr. Reid and his fellow Senate enablers: between a Democratic president attacking them implicitly, and a Republican presidential contender attacking them explicitly.

Ed Gillespie, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee who was a colleague in the Bush administration, sums up the challenge this way. “Our nominee,” he says, “needs to talk about the do-nothing Senate, and remind voters that Harry Reid and the Democrats are in control there. Republicans need to constantly remind voters that the problems in our economy and with the health-care bill are the result of Democratic control—and that in the Senate this control continues to block reform and advance the Obama agenda.”

The good news is that the Republican contenders are mostly in a good place to advance this argument. As a former leader in the U.S. Senate, Rick Santorum no doubt understands how important a majority in the Senate would be to a GOP president. So does Newt Gingrich, who had his own experience with the Senate leadership when he served as speaker of the House.

Video: Newt Gingrich Speaks at CPAC 2012

by on

JOIN THE CONSERVATIVE DREAM TEAM

Washington, D.C. – As the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) continues today in Washington, DC, Speaker Newt Gingrich unveiled his battle plan for 2012 – rallying fearless conservatives around his candidacy like Governor Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Senator Fred Thompson, Michael Reagan, Linda Upmeyer, J.C. Watts, Kellyanne Conway, Chuck Norris and others as he takes on the Saul Alinsky radicalism of the Obama Administration.

Here’s what some members of his Conservative Dream Team are saying about Newt Gingrich:

“I have no question Newt Gingrich has the heart of a conservative reformer, the ability to rally and captivate the conservative movement, the courage to tell those Washington interests to take a hike if it’s what is in the best interests of the country.”
-Governor Rick Perry

“It is time for conservatives and Republicans to refocus their attention on the ultimate mission of defeating President Obama. I believe Speaker Gingrich is the bold leader we need to accomplish this mission.”
-Herman Cain

“Newt exemplifies the conservative principles my father championed.
Strong national defense, lower taxes and smaller government.”
-Michael Reagan

“We need someone who has the courage and ability to communicate the truth to the American people. Someone who will explain the hard choices that we must make if we are to give our children and grandchildren the same opportunities our forefathers bestowed on us and avoid the fate that other great nations have suffered throughout history. I believe that person is Newt Gingrich. And that is why I strongly support him.”
-Fred Thompson

“Newt Gingrich presents the best chance for this country to defeat Barack Obama, and he is the only candidate who will lead the country with solutions that strengthen the economy as well as fight back the damage done by the current administration.”
-Kellyanne Conway

“My wife, Gena, and I sincerely believe former Speaker Newt Gingrich is the answer and deserves our endorsement and vote…We believe Newt’s experience, leadership, knowledge, wisdom, faith and even humility to learn from his failures (personal and public) can return America to her glory days. And he is the best man left on the battlefield who is able to outwit, outplay and outlast Obama and his campaign machine.”
-Chuck Norris

“When you consider where we are today, and you think about the good, old days of balanced budgets, entitlement reform, and paying down our National debt, getting tax relief; as a Republican majority, Newt Gingrich was the Speaker, we haven’t seen things like that in the last thirteen years. I am looking for somebody that will be willing to do the heavy lifting to get us to where we all want to be as a nation, and I think Newt fits that profile.”
-Congressman J.C. Watts

“Newt Gingrich has the solutions and ideas we need to restore this country to the greatness that it was founded upon, and I’m proud to stand with him in this fight.”
-Iowa House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer

Newt’s talk at CPAC 2012

Enhanced by Zemanta

ACU Announces Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain to Address CPAC 2012

by on

ACU Preparing to Host 39th Annual Conservative Political Action Conference

 

WASHINGTON, DC – The American Conservative Union (ACU) today announced former Presidential candidates U.S. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain will both be featured speakers at CPAC 2012 – the 39th annual Conservative Political Action Conference. America’s largest gathering of conservative leaders and activists will be held Thursday, February 9 – Saturday, February 11, 2012, in Washington, DC.

 

“We are proud to welcome Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain to CPAC 2012 next month in our Nation’s Capital. Congresswoman Bachmann is one of the House Chamber’s fiercest advocates for constitutional conservatism, and Herman Cain remains a favorite among many of our supporters across the country. Both are great additions to our exciting CPAC agenda,” said ACU Chairman Al Cardenas. “In less than one month, the American Conservative Union looks forward to hosting 2012’s premier venue for highlighting and advancing conservative leaders, principles and polices.”

 

Every year, the ACU brings thousands of grassroots conservatives and conservative leaders together in Washington, DC for three days of blockbuster speeches, policy discussions and networking opportunities – all celebrating the shared principles of smaller government, a strong national defense and traditional values. Based on this year’s theme, “We STILL Hold These Truths”, CPAC 2012 will feature grassroots training and strategizing to strengthen the conservative movement and ensure conservatives have the resources and tools necessary to defeat the Obama agenda in November.

 

CPAC 2012 features an all-star line-up that also includes former Governors Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, Ann Coulter, Senators Jim DeMint and Marco Rubio, former Speaker Newt Gingrich, Laura Ingraham, Congressmen Jim Jordan, Steve King, Paul Ryan and Allen West, Colonel Oliver North, former Senator Rick Santorum, Governors Bobby Jindal and Scott Walker and many more.

 

The American Conservative Union is America’s oldest and largest grassroots conservative organization and was founded in 1964. The ACU has hosted CPAC in the Nation’s Capital since 1973.  Admission tickets and hotel accommodations for CPAC 2012 are going quickly. Online registration for CPAC 2012 ends February 3, so reserve your space today at www.cpac.org.

The Obama Gang: Time for Newt to Work Up A Number 6 On ‘Em!

by on

By Chuck Muth:

Last night’s debate.  Game-changer?  Maybe.  Still too early to tell.

But I think last night’s performance by Newt Gingrich – especially in responding to John King’s opening question about his ex-wife’s accusations – is going to take a lot of undecided Republicans and soft Romney supporters and move them from “It’d be great if Gingrich could actually give Mitt a run for his money, but it ain’t gonna happen” to “You know what, the son-of-a-gun might actually be able to pull it off!”

And don’t think Romney’s peeps aren’t sayin’ the same thing this morning.  The smell of fear is in the air.

With that said, let me take this opportunity to disclaim that while I’ve been a Newt supporter for almost 20 years, I am also a paid adviser to the Winning Our Future PAC; a super-PAC supporting the former House Speaker.  Take it for what it’s worth.

That said, Mitt Romney reminds me of Niles Crane (Frasier).  Well-bred and intellectually superior, but when he wants to show anger or passion it comes off in a decidedly forced and non-threatening way.

“You, my good fellow, are about to get yourself a good thrashing!”  Which is the last thing he says before getting knocked out cold with a single punch.

And then there’s Gingrich…a bare-knuckled political street brawler if there ever was one.

Newt’s opponents, his detractors, some former colleagues, the media, the Left, the Right, the Center…and now even his ex-wife…have thrown everything, including the kitchen sink, at the guy.  And he’s still standing.  If anyone had any doubts as to whether this guy can take a punch, those concerns were obliterated last night.

Meanwhile, Romney can’t even handle the issue of releasing of his tax returns.

I mean, good grief.  Can’t he and his handlers see that they’re only feeding the suspicion that there’s something he’s trying to hide?  “And if there is,” Republicans are saying to themselves, “maybe we better find out what it is BEFORE we nominate the guy, not after it’s too late.”

Ditto the Bain video.  Does anyone really think that documentary wasn’t going to come out if Winning Our Future PAC hadn’t released it?  No, it was gonna be used against Romney one way or the other. The difference is, it came out now while Republican primary voters still had an opportunity to consider whether the information was worth worrying about, not in the fall after it was too late.

And if Romney IS the GOP’s nominee next fall – and that no longer seems inevitable – thanks to the video’s early release it’ll be old news when the Democrats and Obama try to use it against him.  It will have lost its potency.  So Winning Our Future will have actually done the guy a favor.

But let’s get back to last night’s debate smackdown.

A couple things are clear.  Either Romney or Gingrich could beat Obama in November.  And either Romney or Gingrich could lose to Obama in November.  So the question a lot of Republican voters are starting to ask themselves is: “If we’re gonna lose in the fall, do we want to go out with a whimper, the way we did with Bob Dole and John McCain; or do we want to go out in a blaze of glory?”

Republicans can bring a knife to a gunfight with the Obamamaniacs by nominating Romney.  Or they can pick Newt and“work up a ‘Number 6’ on ‘em!”

What?  You don’t know what a “Number 6” is (Blazing Saddles)?

Hedley Lamarr: “Number 6″? I’m afraid I’m not familiar with that one.

Taggart: Well, that’s where we go a-ridin’ into town, a whampin’ and a whompin’ every livin’ thing that moves within an inch of its life.

Gingrich is the only candidate left in the GOP nomination race ready, willing and able to work up a Number 6 on Obama and the Democrats.

Mitt *might* be able to give The Chosen One a good thrashing – but if he can’t even handle an underfunded Gingrich over the Bain video and his tax returns, why would anyone believe he’d be able to survive the beat-down he’s gonna get once the dumpster-diving Boys from Chicago, armed with a billion dollars, are unleashed on him?

You might not like Newt Gingrich.  And you might not agree with him on every issue.

But you can’t deny that if he’s the nominee, no matter what Obama &  Company throw at him, he’ll kick, swing and bite back.  And every chance he’s given, he won’t hesitate for even second to “Rochambeau” (South Park) the community organizer.

Indeed, Newt reminds me of the guy whose pappy named him “Sue” (Johnny Cash).

For you young ‘uns, here’s the gist of the story.  A father named his son “Sue” before abandoning him.  As such, his son got the snot beat out of him on a fairly regular basis as a kid.  And once he became an adult, he went looking for the man who gave his that girl-name to settle the score.  We now pick up the story…
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I’d stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me “Sue.”

Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother’d had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: “My name is ‘Sue!’ How do you do!
Now your gonna die!!”

Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a’ gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.

I tell ya, I’ve fought tougher men
But I really can’t remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin’ at me and I saw him smile.

And he said: “Son, this world is rough
And if a man’s gonna make it, he’s gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn’t be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you’d have to get tough or die
And it’s the name that helped to make you strong.”

He said: “Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn’t blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I’m the son-of-a-bitch that named you “Sue.’”
Sue.  Newt.  They almost rhyme.  And who better to work up a Number 6 on ‘em?

Under the Fedora: A Busy News Day

by on

The slow news day is a phenomenon that every organization needs to deal with, then there are the days like Thursday Jan 19th where there is so much news you don’t know how to cover it all.

Let’s start with Rick Perry’s departure from the presidential race.

We had the interesting dance of Erick Erickson calling for said departure the day before, the Perry camp minimizing Erickson (although he introduced him at his announcement) and then not only following his advice about pulling out but giving the endorsement of Gingrich that Erickson suggested.

That’s the way politics is, you go from Big Man on Campus, to non-entity to Guru pretty fast.

That endorsement of Gingrich hasn’t rubbed off on Perry’s supporters, my friend Barbara Espinosa of America Freedom has 7 posts hitting Gingrich all put up in the last 24 hours.

I don’t know where she and other Perry supporters will end up but it will be interesting to see how they get there.

Speaking of Newt looking at the ballyhooed ABC’s clip from Nightline I can’t help but think of the Errol Flynn rape trial.

You might recall that at his statutory rape trial one of Flynn’s accusers was on the stand when his lawyer famously showed a photo of one of the accusers on the stand producing a stunned reaction while not introducing it as evidence to the jury, allowing each member to imagine the worst image possible.

So rather than leading with a short weak interview ABC (with some help from Drudge) allowed first a hint and then a clip of the Nightline feature out causing a feeding frenzy in the media.

I don’t doubt ABC hoped to preempt another “Newt Wins Debate” story, but remember for the media above all else the desire is for ratings. By the time Nightline was to air, the constant chatter in the media combined with attacks by Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin and Newt’s own answer at the debate ensured that an otherwise unspectacular 8 minutes that as William Jacobson notes doesn’t even stand up against the interviewees own past statement would become must see TV and be the primary topic on all the morning shows.

It was a triumph of merchandising where, as Mel Brooks once said “the real money from the movie is made.”

As for the debate itself, after the initial line it was almost anti-climatic, Mitt Romney managed to twice in one week flub the tax question. It was the climax of a bad day where he lost the lead in the SC polls to Gingrich, lost one of the conservatives necessary to divide the vote, and lost his 8 vote win in Iowa to Rick Santorum.

Conventional wisdom a week ago had him all but nominated, now today I hear talk of a brokered convention.

I love conventional wisdom, it’s always true right up until the moment it isn’t. Ask anyone in Green Bay.

Ron Paul took advantage of the now narrower field to flesh out his answers more. In 30 seconds a Paul statement produces a “Say What” but with time to flesh out an answer it can produce a “I never thought of it that way before”. Every day he doesn’t take the hits of the leaders the kindly old man married for 50+ years image takes hold and let’s not forget his is the last mainline protestant in the race against 2 Catholics and a Mormon.

He’s still last on my GOP depth chart.

Rick Santorum was the only candidate to throw a blow or two at Paul, but they were overshadowed by his roundhouses to both Gingrich and Romney. I doubt it will be enough to get him a win or enough to take Newt out of first but it along with his sudden Iowa victory will keep him carrying on.

York had an interesting comment on Santorum’s 38 vote lead in Iowa which GOP officials there call a “tie”

The Iowa GOP got the message in a hurry and now say: “Rick Santorum is the winner of the Iowa Caucus. Period.”

Amazing how fast a narrative changes with the heat on.

—–

Speaking of changing the narrative Wikipedia, Google and others with their very public blowback on SOPA certainly changed the direction of that legislation:

Senate Republicans reacted quickly to the Web blackout, which exposed hundreds of millions of Internet users to the piracy bills for the first time.

GOP Sens. Roy Blunt (Mo.), Orrin Hatch (Utah), John Boozman (Ark.) and Marco Rubio (Fla.) dropped their support for the Senate version of the anti-piracy legislation, and Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), who leads the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, said the legislation should be put on hold.

Hatch, Rubio, Blunt and Boozman all pulled their sponsorship of the Senate bill.

It’s kinda funny but it wasn’t so long ago that we did without those site every day, now a one day blackout combined with phone calls changes the course of legislation. It is the best example of people making a difference that I’ve seen in years.

Rick Santorum should thank his lucky stars for the protest, it led to a question in the debate on the subject and allowed him to publicly come out against it. The video of his answer on a SOPA question from a Windham NH town hall has been murdering him for a week.

I’ve already seen pro-SOPA ads running on MSNBC, they will likely not make a difference not with Harry Reid saying this (via via Doug Mataconis):

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid won’t whip Democratic votes for an online anti-piracy bill, according to sources familiar with his plans.

The decision deals a severe blow to movie, music and television producers, who had hoped to withstand a surprisingly strong Silicon Valley surge against the bill. It also casts serious doubt over whether the bill authored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) will be able to net the 60 votes needed to reach cloture.

How scared of this issue do Democrats have to be to run away from Hollywood money.

In another triumph for free Speech the web group Anonymous used Denial of Service attacks to bring down or slow down the Department of Justice, Universal Music and other sites over the legal case and takedown of Megaupload for copyright violations.

Nothing marks you as a defender of free speech more than stopping the speech of others enforcing the laws of a republic or claiming their rights under the laws.

I look at Anonymous the same was as I do virus writers and spam and phishing scammers.

Incidentally you might want to take a peek at this post, on ways to spot a scam e-mail

————-

Scott Brown opens his 2012 campaign (photo by DaTechGuy)

Senator Scott brown officially launched his re-election campaign Thursday in Worcester

You can’t go wrong finishing a speech with “Go Patriots”!

There are more photos here and video here. A lot of the event was standard political fare but I noticed an interesting omission:

All in all any experienced political operator looking from the outside would, from what they saw, find the whole event quite unremarkable, but the real story of the night was outside the hall in what could be seen, or rather couldn’t.

I came to the hall expecting protestors, when I entered I saw none. During the event I asked a police officer of rank about organized protest, he reported none. I spoke to Brown team members during the week, they expected protests and made a note of their absence and as I left the hall I saw but a single woman holding a sign across the street.
Watch the left keep the occupods as far away as possible during 2012.

I had a lot more I was in the mood to talk about but that will wait for next week, by which time the Patriots should be on their way to the Superbowl for a rematch with the Giants (and yes those are my picks)

A closing thought if you are shoveling snow this week: Only 30 days till pitchers and catchers report to Spring training!

Keith Appell’s Takaways from Last Night’s Debate: Newt’s Moment, Romney’s Wealth, Rick’s Rise

by on

Inauguration Day is one year from today, will Obama be taking the oath for the second time or will one of the Republicans on stage last night usher in a new administration? Some takeaways from last night’s debate heading into tomorrow’s vote in South Carolinahhh …

Newt’s Moment: The question had to be asked, CNN was right to ask it although they shouldn’t have led with it given all the other news of the day and bigger issues before us. (No questions about Obama killing the Keystone pipeline and all those jobs when the economy and jobs are, by far, the biggest issues?) There are very, very few people in either party who can pull off what Newt did last night. He anticipated the question and flipped the entire moment to his advantage.  He has effectively made the media an issue in the campaign and that, as much as anything else, has fueled his comeback over the past several months. Given Newt’s pattern of successfully using the media as a foil, this was teed up for him perfectly and – like Albert Pujols turning on an inside fastball – he knocked it into the next zip code.  He probably won South Carolina last night.

Romney’s Wealth: Speaking of patterns, Romney’s pattern of struggling with presenting his wealth is now a mounting problem. The $10,000 bet challenge to Perry, the “not very much” he earned in speaking fees – over $350,000 in a little over a year, the Western White House he’s building in La Jolla (a bit presumptuous, no?), the remark about “living in the real streets of America” (Lake Winnipesaukee?), and the waffling on release of his tax returns all form a troubling narrative that make good fodder for attack ads.  Romney is absolutely right about not having to apologize for his success, but he clearly struggles to connect with the overwhelming majority of people who are struggling mightily in a tough economy.  This throws a monkey wrench into his electability argument, and he definitely was uncomfortable with the issue last night. While a loss in South Carolina won’t be crippling he’ll be 1-2 (or 1-1-1 at best) in the first three contests and that doesn’t exactly scream inevitability or electability. He has two advantages going into Florida: money for TV ads and the approximately 150,000 votes cast before Santorum was declared the Iowa winner, before Perry dropped out, and before his tax returns became an issue.  Still, as South Carolina proved, ten days is a long time.

Rick’s Rise:  Rising to the occasion, Santorum took the high road and didn’t criticize the Iowa GOP for screwing up the Caucus count, he’s now a winner and he performed like one last night. One gets the feeling that, at some point in a debate, Santorum is just going to look at Romney and Newt and say “I like both of you personally but face it, neither of you can win this.” Santorum is a gifted debater in that he can passionately and articulately argue his case without going over the line.  With every debate he improves and more comfortably cuts a presidential profile. It’s still an uphill battle for him given his money disadvantage but he is gaining stature.  He has been in distant third or fourth, but is in position to exceed expectations with Perry out and a tour de force last night.