• Michael Steele,  Republican National Committee

    Young Republicans Want Michael Steele for RNC Chairman – Flap Endorses Steele

    January 29, 2009 /
    Young-GOP-4-Steele

    Young Republicans FAVOR Michael Steele for Republican National Committe Chairman.

    A survey conducted for the Young Republican National Federation, which claims more than 10,000 members, finds that the RNC chairman candidates’ views on social issues are important to only 6% of the 1,249-person sample. The candidates’ positions on the economy and job creation were most in demand, followed by their views on taxes, energy independence and national security. Illegal immigration, a subject of outsize importance to the vocal wing of the party, ranked 8th out of 10; only five percent of the members said that they were curious about how candidates would talk about the subject.

    According to a YRNF spokesperson, self-identified social conservatives were well represented in the survey.

    In terms of priorities for next RNC head, exploiting advances in social media and technology were high on list, but even more simply, survey participants said they were ignored by the party leadership and hoped that the new RNC chair would integrate young voters into the overall political strategy. 
     
    Finally, “not supporting a candidate” outranked any particular candidate, though MD Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, garnered the support of 35% of the sample, followed by Ohio’s Ken Blackwell, Current RNC chairman Mike Duncan won 3% of the vote.

    The YR”s have some good insight into the NEW direction of the party. Obviously, the politics of current RNC Chairman Mike Duncan have failed.

    The election is tomorrow and Flap is most comfortable with Michael Steele and therefore ENDORSES him for Chairman.

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  • Chip Saltsman

    Chip Saltsman Withdraws from RNC Chairman Race

    January 29, 2009 /

    Barack the Magic Negro, a 2007 parody song aired by conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh

    Chip Saltsman has withdrawn as a candidate for Republican National Committee Chairman.

    Chip Saltsman, whose bid for RNC Chairman was derailed and defined by distributing (and defending) the “Barack the Magic Negro” song, has dropped out.

    “While my travels make me confident in our party’s future, I wanted you to be first to know that I have decided to withdraw my candidacy to become your next chairman,” he wrote supporters.

    After distributing that Christmas CD with “Barack The Magic Negro” on it, he never really had a chance.

    What poor judgment.

  • Michael Steele,  Republican National Committee

    RNC Chair Watch: Michael Steele Claims 39 Supporters – Closing in on Mike Duncan?

    January 29, 2009 /
    Steele-for-RNC

    Former Republican Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele and candidate for Chairman, Repubican Natonal Committee

    As it is leaked to The Politico on Thursday afternoon before the Friday vote:

    But my colleague Alex Burns reports that with the vote less than 48 hours away Steele’s camp shared a list of 30 supporters with Politico, including 12 privately pledged backers who wish to remain anonymous. (In total, Steele’s team claims 39 supporters – a number which, if accurate, would put him remarkably close to incumbent Chair Mike Duncan’s level of support.)

    Why share this info now? It’s “important to have an accurate picture of where the race stands,” they say. It’s a risky move, though. On the one hand, it could give Steele the appearance of momentum in the home stretch. On the other hand, it will also raise expectations for Steele’s performance on the first ballot. And in an election with multiple ballots, when commitments may not last past the first vote, the expectations game can be decisive.

    So, does Michael Steele have the Big Mo going into tomorrows vote?

    Let’s hope so.

    Read Chris Cilliza’s final handicap of the RNC race here.

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  • Barack Obama,  economics,  MoveOn.org

    Democrat Supporting Organizations And Unions Target GOP Senators On Obama Stimulus Bill

    January 29, 2009 /
    Latest television ad targeting GOP Senators on Obama Stimulus Legislation

    Left-Wing Democratic Party supporting groups are going to bat targeting GOP Senators over next week’s vote on the Obama/Democrat Stimulus Bill that passed the House yesterday.

    Who are they targeting?

    GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Olympia Snowe (Maine), Judd Gregg (N.H.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Chuck Grassley (Iowa).

    An ad mixes that clip with voiceovers imploring the Republicans to cross the aisle: “Tell Sens. Collins and Snowe to support the Obama plan for jobs, not the failed policies of the past,” a voiceover intones in the ad running in Maine.

    Collins and Snowe were among the five Republicans who have already supported the legislation at the committee level.

    Obama won in Maine, New Hampshire and Iowa by large margins, though he lost Alaska’s electoral votes. The ads aim to pressure Murkowski, Gregg and Grassley, all of whom face re-election in 2010, to vote for the Senate version of the stimulus package.

    Collins won reelection in 2008 and Snowe doesn’t face voters again until 2012.

    The ads, which will cost $500,000 total, are being funded by Americans United for Change, MoveOn.org, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Service Employees International Union. The group of organizations estimated it would spend a combined $4 to $5 million on the entire campaign.

    Will these GOP Senators hold the party discipline like the GOP House that voted unanimously yesterday against the bill?

    Perhaps, because despite the ads, polling shows American voters are not that enthused over the Obama pork-laden plan.

  • France

    French Workers Strike And March in The Streets – Blame Economic Crisis on the United States

    January 29, 2009 /
    French Strike

    Arcellor Mittal workers demonstrate during a protest march in Marseille January 29, 2009

    The French socialist trade unions are at it again.

    Hundreds of thousands of teachers, nurses, factory workers and plumbers marched through French cities on Thursday to demand pay rises and protection for jobs.

    The demonstrations were the high point of a nationwide one-day strike called by France’s eight main trade unions to try to persuade President Nicolas Sarkozy and business leaders to do more to help ordinary people overcome the economic crisis.

    But the stoppage, billed as a “Black Thursday,” did not bring France to a halt as previous strikes have done. Public transport continued to run, albeit on a reduced and erratic schedule.

    “The government has taken measures for banks but today it is the workers who are suffering,” said Charles Foulard, a technician at a refinery run by energy giant Total.

    “This crisis comes from the United States, it’s the financial bubble that is bursting. It’s not for the workers to pay for that,” he said as crowds gathered at the Place de la Bastille in Paris, birthplace of the French Revolution.

    Surprised they didn’t blame Bush.

    France is just broken – a lesson as to what happens to a social democracy when the left-wing unions call the shots.

  • Barack Obama,  economics

    Poll Watch: Support for Obama’s Economic Stimulus Plan Slips – ONLY 42 Per Cent Support

    January 29, 2009 /
    No-on-the-Obama-Economic-st

    There was no bipartisan support yesterday when President Barack Obama’s Economic Stimulus Bill HR 1 passed the House with NO Republican votes.

    Now, support from the American public is also falling.

    Public support for the economic recovery plan crafted by President Obama and congressional Democrats has slipped a bit over the past week. At the same time, expectations that the plan will quickly become law have increased.

    Forty-two percent (42%) of the nation’s likely voters now support the president’s plan, roughly one-third of which is tax cuts with the rest new government spending. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 39% are opposed to it and 19% are undecided. Liberal voters overwhelmingly support the plan while conservatives are strongly opposed.

    Last week, support for the President’s plan was at 45% and opposition at 34%.

    As they consider the size and scope of the $800-billion-plus economic recovery plan, 46% are worried that the government will end up doing too much while 42% worry that it will do too little.

    As the U.S. Senate takes up the debate next week, there will be further examination of this pork-laden crap sandwich of a bill.

    Flap bets there will be a goodly number of GOP amendments cutting spending and increasing tax cuts in the final bill. If not, the GOP Senate leadership will filibuster the bill – with American voter support.

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  • Barack Obama,  Sarah Palin

    2012 Preview: Barack Obama and Sarah Palin Share the Stage at Alfalfa Club Dinner

    January 29, 2009 /
    barack-obama-sarah-palin-dancing-with-the-stars

    No, the President and Alaska Governor are NOT going on Dancing With the Stars. But, they are both attending the Alfalfa Club Dinner on Saturday night in Washington.

    In what could be a preview of the 2012 presidential race, Sarah Palin and Barack Obama will share a stage together this Saturday night in Washington, D.C., Politico has learned.

    The Alaska governor and former GOP vice presidential nominee, making her first trip to the nation’s capital since the election, will join the President at the Alfalfa Dinner, a venerable gathering of the city’s political elite.

    Palin and Obama will both address the black tie crowd at the Capital Hilton, aides to each say.

    The duo will not, though, be heard by the general public. By tradition, the old world gathering, now in its 96th year, bars reporters. Quotes from the rostrum do, however, tend to find their way out to reporters in the lobby.

    Will Sarah win the nomination for President?

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