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GOP plank hammers Obama’s ‘social experimentation’ in military

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Photo credit: basykes

Mitt Romney does not bring up President Obama’s social revolution inside the armed forces, but the Republican Party platform, by calling an end to “social experimentation” in the ranks, does.

The platform also backs the current ban on women serving in direct ground combat units, as the Obama administration is moving toward a decision to remove the prohibition before the November election.

The Republican National Committee on Resolutions, meeting last week in Tampa, Fla., approved a plank that states: “We support the advancement of women in the military, which has not only opened doors of opportunity for individuals but has made possible the devoted, and often heroic, services of additional members of every branch of the Armed Forces.”

Elaine Donnelly, who directs the Center for Military Readiness and attended the platform markup, said the language sends a strong signal to those who would sacrifice military preparedness to advance social policies.

“We reject the use of the military as a platform for social experimentation and will not accept attempts to undermine military priorities and mission readiness,” the platform states.

Read more from this story HERE.

Ron Paul declines speaking slot at Tampa after Romney demands preapproval, unqualified endorsement

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The libertarian Republican presidential candidate says he’s declined an opportunity to speak at the Republican National Convention in Tampa because Mitt Romney’s campaign imposed two conditions on any Paul speech — that it be reviewed by the nominee-to-be’s team and that it include an endorsement without hesitation or reservation.

“It wouldn’t be my speech,” the Texas congressman told the New York Times. “That would undo everything I’ve done in the last 30 years. I don’t fully endorse him for president.”

Pundits noted that the uncompromising attitude that has won Paul a national following also limits his clout within the GOP.

“Uncompromising and perfectly willing to operate on the margins of mainstream politics for decades, Ron Paul proved unable to take his liberty message to a broader audience,” Charlie Mahtesian wrote today in Politico. “Even this year, at the height of his national influence and popularity, the Texas congressman failed to win the popular vote in a single state and never seriously threatened to win the GOP nomination.”

But inside the University of South Florida’s Sun Dome, where Paul is holding a celebration of his candidacy today, supporters say Paul’s unyielding principles are why they love him. Jordan Page, a singer who has penned several ballads about the Texas congressman, called Paul “the one sane voice in a sea of madness.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Is Romney to Lead Conservatives to Self-Extinction?

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“I know that Romney’s bad. But first we get Obama out. Then we’ll hold Romney’s feet to the fire.” That’s one of the most common things I hear from self-blinkered GOP partisans hacking for the artificially-engineered Romney nomination. They angrily pretend that rank and file conservatives have no choice but to obey the “eyes wide shut” command emanating from the GOP’s elitist faction party bosses.

There’s a suspiciously peremptory tone to their pretense these days. As an old Star Trek fan, I hear the chilly, disembodied voice of the Borg collective. “You will be given no other choice. We will add your no longer electorally distinctive ballot to our total. Resistance is futile.” Truth to tell, however, if you are authentically conservative, supporting Romney is also futile; futile and self-destructive.

A leftist pretender like Romney wins office by successfully gulling a conservative constituency that would otherwise oppose the things he really means to achieve. He uses their support to build up the lie that he’s one of them. Once in office, he works with the leftists (in his own party and the opposition) to come up with predominantly leftist plans and proposals that implement his true goals. The false perception that he’s “conservative” allows his supporters in the “conservative” party to hold any critics in its ranks in check. “We have to trust him,” they say. “We have to give him the benefit of the doubt,” they plead. “He’ll implement this with respect for our views,” they promise. And on and on.

Thanks to this strategy for governing, the duped conservatives can’t hold his feet to the fire because he has no need to bed down in their camp once elected. He can set to work building a coalition that combines the left-wing tail of his own party with the left-wing body of the opposing party so as to pave the way to re-election, with or without the conservative dupes who obligingly handed him the opportunity to make them obsolete.

Thus leftist results, wearing a conservative gloss, move the government toward the greater consolidation of socialist politics. In the process, the term “conservative” gets progressively (pun intended) redefined to encompass more and more of the features of socialism. What is more important, those who articulate and insist upon approaches that actually correspond to conservative principles and institutional goals (like respecting unalienable rights, preserving the natural family, encouraging morally responsible individual entrepreneurship, and competitive free enterprise) are put in the false position of being unrealistic “purists” and rigid opponents of “the possible.”

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Libertarian Gary Johnson asks for support of Ron Paul Voters

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Photo credit: Gage Skidmore

Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson was nowhere to be seen at the official Ron Paul rally in Tampa, but he did make a pitch to Paul’s voters at this weekend’s grassroots-organized Paul Fest.

“I want you all to know that I am a Dr. Paul fan,” Johnson, a former two-term Republican governor of New Mexico, told the crowd to loud applause.

Johnson emphasized his agreement with Paul on foreign policy and auditing the Federal Reserve as he made the case that he is the best candidate to move the Texas congressman’s message forward in the presidential race.

Initially, Johnson sought the Republican nomination for president while Paul was still a candidate, but he told the crowd he had long been a Paul supporter. “Ron Paul asked me for my endorsement in 2008 and I readily gave him that endorsement,” Johnson said. “When I dropped out of the Republican primary, I asked everyone who was going to vote for me to vote for Ron Paul.”

Cheers erupted when Johnson reminded the audience that, during his final appearance in the Republican presidential debates, he said he would pick Ron Paul to be his running mate if nominated.

Read more from this story HERE.

Huckabee is right to condemn GOP for leaving wounded on battlefield

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As a former Navy enlisted man, West Point graduate, and former Army officer, I appreciate what Governor Mike Huckabee wrote to his supporters this past week. Military men never leave their wounded on the battlefield. And that is what has happened with the embattled Congressman Todd Akin, running for a Senate seat against Democrat Claire McCaskill in Missouri.

The Republican establishment joined the Democrat Party and the media in relentless attacks over Congressman Akin’s misstatement about abortion and rape during the past few days.

As Governor Huckabee wrote, Congressman Akin has apologized for his inappropriate remarks and he has resoundingly rejected what he said. He is guilty only of wanting to see every living being protected. However, many of the establishment in the Republican Party, who do not agree with his pro-life views, joined the Democrat firing squad against the congressman.

Democrats never form circular firing squads when one of their own, such as Bill Clinton, make mistakes. The Republican establishment, on the other hand, gladly form such firing squads against their own elected officials when they are frightened. This needs to stop. Indeed, an apology is owed by many of them to this distinguished Member of Congress, Todd Akin.

[To see the email which former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee wrote to his supporters on August 23, 2012, click HERE.]

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Jim Backlin, is a former Reagan administration official and congressional chief of staff after a career in business. A West Point graduate and Vietnam veteran, Jim is chief lobbyist for the Christian Coalition of America.

Romney’s coup: Power grab allows him & RNC to change GOP rules without delegates’ vote in Tampa

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The Republican National Convention Rules Committee voted 63-38 to approve a new rule allowing granting the Republican National Committee — and Mitt Romney — sweeping new powers to amend the governing document of the GOP.

The move came at the encouragement of Mitt Romney supporters on the committee, including Romney’s top lawyer Ben Ginsberg, who stressed that it would grant “flexibility” to Romney and the committee to adapt to changing political environments. The rule allows the RNC to amend the party’s rules without a vote by the full Republican National Convention. And it offers the Republican Establishment a new tool to keep at by Tea Party initiatives that threaten to embarrass or contradict party leadership and stray from a planned message.

Romney, as his party’s nominee, exerts significant influence over the RNC, which is made up of elected party officials from all 50 states, while the larger Convention Rules Committee is larger and has a more grassroots membership.

“This is necessary for the world in which we find ourselves in,” Ginsberg told the committee, adding that it is “important for the political survival of the party in the electoral context,” for the committee to be able to change the rules as it sees fit in the intervening four years between conventions.

Virginia delegate and RNC member Morton Blackwell strenuously objected to the proposed rule change, calling it “the most awful proposed amendments I’ve seen presented to this committee.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Huckabee today compares GOP Senatorial Committee to “union goons” who “kneecap” their enemies

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Mike Huckabee participated in a conference call Friday night with hundreds of Baptist pastors and Christian talk radio hosts in Missouri that was organized to coordinate a robust defense of Rep. Todd Akin as he faces pressure from Washington Republicans to drop his Senate bid against Democrat Claire McCaskill. Akin told reporters in St. Louis today that he would not quit the race.

Speaking harshly about establishment Republicans who have tried to force Akin from the Missouri race, Huckabee at one point compared the National Republican Senatorial Committee to “union goons” who “kneecap” their enemies.

The former Arkansas governor said party bosses were “opening up rounds and rounds” of ammunition on Akin and “then running over with tanks and trucks and leaving him to be ravaged by the other side.”

“This is unprecedented, to see to this orchestrated attempt to humiliate and devastate a fellow Republican,” Huckabee said of Akin, who has deep ties to the Christian conservative movement. Akin spent Thursday in Florida meeting with evangelical leaders and evaluating his political future.

Huckabee said he spoke directly with NRSC officials this week and was assured that they would begin to dial back their offensive against Akin. He said party officials specifically told him they would stop pressuring Akin’s consultants and campaign vendors to drop the congressman as a client.

Read more from this story HERE.

Huckabee: Who Ordered the Establishment’s Hit on Akin?

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Photo credit: Gage Skidmore

The deadline came and went on Tuesday for Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin to drop out over an incorrect comment he made about rape. The Republican establishment put unprecedented and intense pressure on Todd to quit, including five current and past Missouri Senators. But in an exclusive interview on my radio show, Akin said he’s “in this race to the end.” He said he admitted he misspoke and that his statement was not accurate, but he’d sincerely apologized. You can listen to the audio from that interview on my website.

The Party’s leaders have for reasons that aren’t rational, left him behind on the political battlefield, wounded and bleeding, a casualty of his self-inflicted, but not intentional wound. In a Party that supposedly stands for life, it was tragic to see the carefully orchestrated and systematic attack on a fellow Republican. Not for a moral failure or corruption or a criminal act, but for a misstatement which he contritely and utterly repudiated. I was shocked by GOP leaders and elected officials who rushed so quickly to end the political life of a candidate over a mistaken comment in an interview. This was a serious mistake, but it was blown out of proportion not by the left, but by Akin’s own Republican Party. Is this what the party really thinks of principled pro-life advocates? Do we forgive and forget the verbal gaffes of Republicans who are “conveniently pro-life” for political advantage, but crucify one who truly believes that every life is sacred?

Who ordered this “Code Red” on Akin? There were talking point memos sent from the National Republican Senatorial Committee suggesting language to urge Akin to drop out. Political consultants were ordered to stay away from Akin or lose future business with GOP committees. Operatives were recruited to set up a network of pastors to call Akin to urge him to get out. Money has changed hands to push him off the plank. It is disgraceful. From the spotlights of political offices and media perches, it may appear that the demand for Akin’s head is universal in the party. I assure you it is not. There is a vast, but mostly quiet army of people who have an innate sense of fairness and don’t like to see a fellow political pilgrim bullied. If Todd Akin loses the Senate seat, I will not blame Todd Akin. He made his mistake, but was man enough to admit it and apologize. I’m waiting for the apology from whoever the genius was on the high pedestals of our party who thought it wise to not only shoot our wounded, but run over him with tanks and trucks and then feed his body to the liberal wolves. It wasn’t just Todd Akin that was treated with contempt by the thinly veiled attack on Todd Akin. It was all the people who have faithfully knocked doors, made calls, and made sacrificial contributions to elect Republicans because we thought we were welcome in the party. Todd Akin owned his mistake. Who will step up and admit the effort being made to discredit Akin and apologize for the sleazy way it’s been handled?

I’ve always believed and still do, that if you don’t honor your friendships, you don’t honor yourself. And I consider Todd a friend. So I will join Todd as often as I can, in his fight for our Party’s pro-life policies, traditional marriage and our efforts to rein in the massive expansion of government under President Obama. Todd is being systematically scourged for one thing he said. Is that more important than what Claire McCaskill has DONE over her 6 years in the Senate? If you’d like to join the fight, and help defeat a Democrat Senator standing in the way of a conservative majority, I encourage you to join me. The party has decided it won’t help. In fact, it has decided that it will try to cut off the supply lines to Akin to pressure him to exit and let the party bosses overturn the voters of Missouri and pick their own candidate. If this can happen to Todd Akin, who is next?

Read more from this story HERE.

Those “Evil, Rich People,” are mostly Democrats

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From the, “you never hear about that from the media” file – Those “Evil, Rich People” that Democrats are always wailing about are actually – Democrats.

In fact, the Top 3 on the list: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett & Larry Ellison are all Democrats. Together, they are worth $126 Billion Dollars.

An analysis of the Top 20 Richest People in America (from Forbes Top 100) reveals that a full 60% are actually Democrats. Furthermore, if you look at it from a “family” point of view and not as indivisuals, thereby eliminating duplication caused by people from the same family being included in that Top 20 list (Wal-Mart & Koch) that ratio widens even further to: 25% Republican / 75% Democrat.

Analyzing the data takes us even further. Not only are there more Democrats in the Top 20 list, but those Democrats are a lot more stingy with their money when it comes to campaign contributions. Republicans coughed up $5.2 million while Democrats squirted out only $2.1 Million. These statistics would indicate that the more you have, the less you give.

Contributions paid to special interest groups are a little harder to track. But we have no reason not to assume that the money these Top 1% of the population contribute to Special Interest groups wouldn’t match (or closely match) those of their chosen political affiliation. So when you add in the money contributed to these groups, you end up with Republican Contributions at $10 million while Democrats contributed only $6 million. Again, it appears that the Democrats are a bit more stingy with their money.

Read more from this story HERE.

RNC picks Chris Christie to give keynote in Tampa

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Photo credit: IowaPolitics.com

Chris Christie, the sometimes abrasive but always entertaining governor of New Jersey, is set to be announced Tuesday as the keynote speaker for the Republicans’ national convention later this month.

Christie, who considered a 2012 presidential bid of his own before endorsing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, is already at work on his speech to the convention in Tampa, Fla.

His record of cutting his state’s budget, curtailing public sector unions and dealing with a Democratic legislature with disarming and combative confidence all were expected to be on display as he looked to fire up his party’s base.

The scheduling decision was first reported online by USA Today early Tuesday and confirmed by Republican officials directly involved in convention planning. The Republican officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the formal announcement was not planned until later Tuesday.

“I’ll try to tell some very direct and hard truths to people in the country about the trouble that we’re in and the fact that fixing those problems is not going to be easy for any of them,” Christie told USA Today in an interview announcing his speech. He said he will describe his experiences in New Jersey as evidence that “the American people are ready to confront those problems head-on and endure some sacrifice.”

Read more from this story HERE.