The Tennessee GOP Chairman Robin Smith adds her perspective to the Kent Williams’ dustup. In part:
In one last incredible insult, Rep. Kent Williams caucused with the other 49 Republican members of the majority during the 30-minute recess that immediately preceded the nominations and vote for Speaker. During that time, Representatives Jason Mumpower, Glen Casada and Charles Sargeant joined Kent Williams in prayer. Rep. Williams offered no indication that less than a half-hour later he would not honor his previous pledges to vote for the nominees of the Republican Caucus.
In conversations with members of the Legislature, I have now spoken with at least two other Republican Members of the House who were contacted in addition to Kent Williams to be nominated as Speaker by the Democrats. So, of the three members approached to participate in this deal, only Kent Williams agreed to conspire with the Democrats. This speaks to the character of Williams, but more importantly, to the character of the 49 honorable men and women who serve us so well in the House. I am proud as Chairman to stand with them on principle and the values of the majority of Tennesseans.
As of the last election Republicans control both houses of the Tennessee legislature for the first time since reconstruction. The Senate Republicans elected a Republican leader last election cycle so they have things firmly in hand.
But the House Republicans are new and still figuring things out. After seeing the disastrous results of the Senate’s attempts at “bi-partisanship” last election cycle, the House Republicans agreed to the last man to vote for a Republican Speaker. And they did. 49 Republicans voted for Jason Mumpower.
Unfortunately, Democrats unanimously voted for moderate “Republican” Kent Williams – as did Kent Williams. Final vote, Mumpower 49, Williams 50.
What price will be paid to Democrats by Williams for giving him his power remains to be seen. For now, there isn’t a Republican in Nashville that Williams can rely on. And that is bad, even for a turncoat RINO.
Read the entire story, as related by an eye witness Family Action Council president David Fowler.
Journalist Ken Marrero was also on hand.
Blue Collar Muse has the Tennessee blogger reaction roundup.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal tells this:
Williams said he approached Democrats about being a candidate for speaker about two days ago. When it became apparent there were not enough votes to re-elect Naifeh, Democrats threw their support behind Williams to ensure at least a share of power.
In other words, Williams secretly conspired with Democrats in a blatant power grab.
Williams said that legislation Republicans have long sought to pass, including an anti-abortion constitutional amendment and more lenient gun bills, will make it to the House floor for votes under his tenure.
“I’m not going to stack committees against anything,” he said.
That remains to be seen. And given Williams’ behavior, the only thing we know is that he cannot be trusted.
Rep. Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) agrees, and today called on Williams to resign:
“I do feel that a falsehood was perpetrated yesterday on members of this body, to the people of Carter County (Williams’ home), to the people of this state,” said Kelsey, who then recited a Bible verse from Exodus that “The Lord admonished but selected capable men from all the people, men who fear God, truthful men who hate dishonest gain.
“And Mr Speaker, I feel personal ambition was put ahead of the State of Tennessee. It was done by a member of this body. We all make mistakes. I make as many as anyone. But I feel this mistake can be corrected,” Kelsey continued. “If that member would resign his seat and go back and run in his county under correct information, giving truthfulness to the people of his county as to what his intentions were and are in regard to how he would like his party affiliation to be and how this body would be run.
“Mr. Speaker, that member is you and I call on you to go back and run as an independent or Democrat,” Kelsey said.
It will be interesting to see how Williams does next election cycle. There will probably be a lot of money pouring into that district in an effort to unseat Williams. But in my opinion it will be unsuccessful. Having a representative in the driver’s seat will look to pretty good to the locals, even if he is a low-down stinkin’ RINO.
What do Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, actress Jessica Simpson and the Detroit Lions have in common? They are all on the Washington Times’ list of The Worst of 2008.
Of the GOP, the WT writes:
Having been soundly trounced in the 2006 midterm elections, the GOP failed to learn that its electoral fortunes depend upon a return to fiscal responsibility, slashing government spending and protecting taxpayers. It is little wonder that in the presidential election, Democrats swept all three branches of government. Is the GOP listening now?
One only hopes.
HT to Richard Viguerie.
Today, Republicans are celebrating Victory over the Democrat Party.
Hillary won both Texas and Ohio, reviving her candidacy and giving her the momentum to keep her campaign going. From this point on, every Democrat primary matters, right down to the 3rd of June when Democrats in Montana and South Dakota go to the polls.
And so we have another three months of sniping within the Democrat Party and another $20 to $30 million in advertising in which Hillary and Obama tear each other apart.
Come November, three things will depress the Democrat turnout. First, all those young blacks that voted for Obama, and that gave money to a political campaign for the first time in their lives. If Hillary wins (or steals, via superdelegates) the nomination, those disaffected voters will stay home -- possibly for several voting cycles.
Second, there's all those women Boomers that supported Hillary, many of which dug into their fixed-income pockets and gave to her campaign. If Obama wins, look for them to stay home.
Third, enter Ralph Nadir, who will only siphon votes from the eventual Democrat candidate, whomever it turns out to be.
Complicating matters is the possibility of a Democrat primary re-vote in Michigan and Florida and those silly superdelegates. Both issues hold enormous emotional energy, the discharge of which could tear the Democrat Party apart.
Meanwhile John McCain gets to focus on framing his race the way he wants as he stands virtually unopposed. Huckabee has officially dropped out and Ron Paul, even though he gets to keep his day job, long ago became the Ross Perot of the 21st century.
Make no mistake, barring something on a seismic scale that alters the political landscape, John McCain will be our next president. Of the three Democrats running, he is the most electable. I only wish that there was a conservative choice that had a chance of winning.
On the other hand, I think back to the Conservative Leadership Conference in Reno last year, when every single panel member said emphatically and with great conviction that Hillary would be our next president, even the revered Captain Ed.
But for now, I'm sticking with my plan to vote for neo-Libertarian Wayne Allyn Root.
Postscript: Rush probably wasn't responsible for Hillary's win in Texas, but you know he'll be chortling today.
Rush Limbaugh is telling Texas and Ohio Republicans to "pimp yourselves for a day" and vote for Hillary in order to keep the war alive in the Democrat party:
I know I'm fighting an uphill battle here, folks, on trying to convince you Republicans in Ohio and Texas to cross over, pimp yourselves for a day, vote for Hillary to keep this campaign going, this Uncivil War, Democrat Party. I know what's going to happen. Even if I convince you to do it -- remember what this is, this is about us winning. You have to understand, it's not about Hillary winning; it's about us winning. It's about our party winning. It's about those people losing. They've got some problems in the Democrat Party. It's not all sweetness and light over there, and we need them to continue warring with each other. We love these stories of black people claiming they've been threatened with violence or their lives because they're not supporting Obama. We want all this kind of stuff out there. We want the Clinton campaign to keep pumping out these pictures of Obama dressed up as Bin Laden. We want this kind of stuff. If Hillary loses this thing, all of that's going to come to a screeching halt. We want all the disruption in that party as possible. It's about us winning. . . .
I also think it's important here to call out ladies and gentlemen, the media. The media has turned on the Clintons, and the bias and the venom shown toward the Clintons and the favoritism being shown toward Obama is offensive. We need to keep chaos alive. That is the slogan of this program, but we're not going to be able to keep chaos alive.
Texans and Ohioans have two choices: vote for a Democrat in the Democrat primary, or waste a vote when voting against McCain in the "Republican" primary. If it were me, I would vote for Hillary just to keep the chaos alive.
Hat tip to NewsMax.
Finally, someone willing to call a RINO a RINO:
Huckabee's campaign actually is what Rudy Giuliani's candidacy is misdescribed as being - a comprehensive apostasy against core Republican beliefs. Giuliani departs from recent Republican stances regarding two issues - abortion and the recognition by the law of same-sex couples. Huckabee's radical candidacy broadly repudiates core Republican policies such as free trade, low taxes, the essential legitimacy of America's corporate entities and the market system allocating wealth and opportunity. . . .
Huckabee's role in this year's '70s Show is not merely to attempt to revise a few Republican beliefs. He represents wholesale repudiation of what came after the 1970s - Reaganism.
Power Line concedes that there is "some truth" to Will's words, but Ramesh Ponnuru (writing on NRO's the corner) steps it up when he brings up another issue on which both Huckabee and Giuliani depart from conservative citizens: guns.
Yet another reason I continue to support Fred Dalton Thompson.
Remember how Pat Toomey ran against long-time RINO Arlen Specter in 2004? Remember how Bush threw his weight behind the incumbent "Republican" rather than support a proven conservative? Remember how Specter edged out an agonizingly narrow win in the Republican primary?
And now Arlen Specter is proposing a special prosecutor be appointed to investigate the firings of political appointees federal prosecutors.
And that, children, is as good an example of karma as any.
House Republicans met after hours today and passed a resolution that is eloquent in its simplicity:
Resolved the House GOP Conference disapproves of the Senate immigration bill.
The resolution passed the House Republican Conference by a large margin, 114 to 23.
Better yet:
[Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.)] said the amnesty provision, no matter how strict the language, was a deal-breaker for most House Republicans.
“That’s why the fundamental bill has no credibility, and basically what we are saying today is it is dead on arrival in the House, we can’t have secret deals, this has to go through committee, it has to go in pieces,” echoed Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.). “A comprehensive bill will not pass the House.”
“The Z visa is unenforceable,” Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif) said, referring to a provision of the Senate bill that would put those in the country illegally on the path to citizenship.
At least some Republicans haven't forgotten their conservative base.
The roll call is up, so you can identify every potential RINO. Thankfully, I get to write my two senators to thank them for voting against reviving this very bad legislation.
The best commentary that I've seen on the immigration battle is by Stanley Kurtz [ht Say Anything and Junk Yard Blog]:
Something about this immigration battle doesn’t sit well. For all the bitterness of our political battles, there’s at least the sense that the government responds to the drift of public opinion. The Republicans in Congress turned into big spenders and the war in Iraq went poorly. As a result the Democrats prospered in 2006, if narrowly. That’s how democracy works. Our politics are often angry and ugly (and that’s a problem), but this is because the public is deeply divided on issues of great importance. Deep down, we understand that our political problems reflect our own divisions.
Somehow this immigration battle feels different. The bill is wildly unpopular, yet it’s close to passing. The contrast with the high-school textbook version of democracy is not only glaring and maddening, it’s downright embarrassing. Usually, even when we’re at each others’ throats, there’s still an underlying pride in the democratic process. This immigration battle strips us of even that pride.
Wildly unpopular is right. LGF has a poll up to gauge the internet reaction. Vote and then see if you are surprised by the results so far.
Update: RedState lists the sellouts.
True conservative former senator Rick Santorum said that he'll back any Republican nominee for president in 2008 except John McCain.
"The only one I wouldn’t endorse is McCain. I don’t agree with him on hardly any issues. I don’t think he has the temperament and leadership ability to move the country in the right direction.”
Over the years, Santorum said he and McCain have disagreed on campaign finance reform, environmental policy, tax cuts, immigration and other issues, and he feels the Arizona Senator isn’t as strongly anti-abortion as he would like.
Putting McCain in the White House would be like electing a "centrist" Democrat. You'd have four years of a "Republican" that governs like the last "Republican" congress.
| Lawmaker | Lawmaker | Lawmaker |
| Aderholt (AL-04) | Lewis, Jerry (CA-41) | Rogers, Mike D. (AL-03) |
| Buyer (IN-04) | Northup (KY-03) | Simmons (CT-02) |
| Emerson (MO-08) | Otter (ID-01) | Simpson (ID-02) |
| Hobson (OH-07) | Paul (TX-14) | Sweeney (NY-20) |
| Jones, W. (NC-03) | Rogers, H. (KY-05) | Walsh (NY-25) |
Those with a gray background in the table above actually sit on the powerful Appropriations Committee.
And so the Club for Growth offers the following points in their analysis:
Technorati Tags: RINO Watch, Wasting Taxpayer Money, Line Item Veto, United States Budget, Appropriations Committee, Club for Growth.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence yesterday endorsed Sen. Mike DeWine, Ohio Republican, making him the first Senate candidate of the 2006 election season to win the group's support.An NRA newsletter notes:
In lauding the anti-gun efforts of Senator DeWine, the group cited DeWine's unsuccessful effort to block the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act," (which was signed last fall by President Bush), his ill-conceived efforts to create a "firearm tracing" database, and his push for sweeping semi-auto firearm bans.Which is why I don't give to the party, I give to the candidate. Oh, and to the special interest groups.
Technorati Tags: Senator Mike DeWine, Ohio Politics, Second Amendment, Gun Rights, Individual Rights, Gun Grabbing Liberals, Gun Control, Liberal Agenda, Eroding Liberty, Fading Freedoms.
Twenty-five Republicans, led by Rep. Charles Bass of New Hampshire, signed a letter asking GOP leaders to strike the Alaskan drilling provision from the broader $54 billion budget cut bill. ...Just how RINO (Republican In Name Only) are these RINOs? Michelle Malkin informs us that all 25 are members of the GOP Main Street Partnership, a group of "moderate" Republicans backed by, among others, billionaire socialist George Soros.The moderates knew they had leverage, given the narrow margin of GOP control of the House. It only takes 14 Republican defections to scuttle a bill, assuming every Democrat opposes it.
Looking at the list of all the members of the organization reveals few no real surprises. Lincoln Chafee, Norm Coleman and John McCain are all members. What is revolting is that Arlen Specter is a member, the same Arlen Specter that Bush chose to back in 2004 against true conservative Pat Toomey.
Which is why I will not send another dime to the National Republican Committee. I will continue to give my money directly to candidates that are backed by groups such as the Club for Growth (which backed Toomey, who is now President and CEO of the Club).
But back to the Traitorous 25. Here is a list of 24 of them, culled from anwr.org:
| Representative | Telephone | Fax |
| Jeb Bradley (NH-1st Dist.) | 202-225-5456 | 202-225-5822 |
| Sherwood Boehlert (NY-24th Dist.) | 202-225-3665 | 202-225-1891 |
| Nancy Johnson (CT-5th Dist.) | 202-225-4476 | 202-225-4488 |
| Christopher Smith (NJ) | 202-225-3765 | 202-225-7768 |
| James Sensenbrenner (WI-5th Dist.) | 202-225-5101 | 202-225-3190 |
| Timothy Johnson (IL-15th Dist.) | 202-225-2371 | 202-226-0791 |
| James Leach (IA-2nd Dist.) | 202-225-6576 | 202-226-1278 |
| Wayne Gilchrest (MD) | 202-225-5311 | 202-225-0254 |
| Sue Kelly (NY-19th Dist.) | 202-225-5441 | 202-225-3289 |
| Charles Bass (NH) | 202-225-5206 | 202-225-2946 |
| Bob Inglis (SC-4th Dist.) | 202-225-6030 | 202-226-1177 |
| David Reichert (WA-8th Dist.) | 202-225-7761 | 202-225-4282 |
| Mark Kennedy (MN-6th Dist.) | 202-225-2331 | 202-225-6475 |
| Christopher Shays (CT-4th Dist.) | 202-225-5541 | 202-225-9629 |
| Michael Ferguson (NJ-7th Dist.) | 202-225-5361 | 202-225-9460 |
| Jim Saxton (NJ-3rd Dist.) | 202-225-4765 | 202-225-0778 |
| Michael Fitzpatrick (PA-8th Dist.) | 202-225-4276 | 202-225-9511 |
| Rosco Bartlett (MD-6th Dist.) | 202-225-2721 | 202-225-2193 |
| Mark Kirk (IL-10th Dist.) | 202-225-4835 | 202-225-0837 |
| Michael Castle (DE-at large) | 202-225-4165 | 202-225-2291 |
| John Schwarz (MI-7th Dist.) | 202-225-6276 | 202-225-6281 |
| Jim Gerlach (PA-6th Dist.) | 202-225-4315 | 202-225-8440 |
| Tom Davis (VA-11th Dist.) | 202-225-1492 | 202-225-3071 |
| Jim Ramstad (MN-3rd Dist.) | 202-225-2871 | 202-225-6351 |
Anwr.org also has a copy of the letter sent by the traitors.
And if you are concerned about the impact on Alaskan wildlife, check out these graphics that I excerpted from the original:
First, how big is the ANWR? Answer: about the size of South Carolina.
But wait! Only 2,300 acres are needed for oil equipment. That's less than four square miles, represented by the tiny red dot in the green area of the coastal plain below.
I'm fairly certain we can do this without upsetting a few caribou. Now if we could only get Republicans to rule like they were the party in charge . . .
More fun facts! To equal the energy produced by the estimated one million barrels of oil per day from the ANWR, you would need: