Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog

Yeah, perhaps. After all, Sarah has a weekly television show on TLC, a new book, America By Heart, commentary/guest spots every few days on Fox News and is doing interviews with Barbara Walters and other MSM outlets .But, it is not as bad as saying her book tour is sputtering.

She’s going to sell more books than just about any 2012 presidential candidate, unless Deepak Chopra throws his hat in the ring. Let’s just admit that. Let’s also ask what it means that Sarah Palin’s America by Heart is not anywhere close to the hit Going Rogue was. The new book debuted at number 2 on the NYT bestseller list, then fell to 3rd, 5th, and now 8th, which means it’s unlikely it will ever get the “#1 New York Times bestseller” badge given to recent hits by David Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, and Glenn Beck.

Big deal. It is Christmas time and folks are busy with shopping, Christmas celebrations and family.

But, then again consider the source. Remember Weigel resigned from the Washington Post because of the JournoList flap.

The new Congress coming into office this January will be like no other. Never in American history will there been as much day to day scrutiny of its members.

Every big campaign check, every speech, every foible and slip up with be immediately electronically blasted to voters in their districts. There is no hiding of votes by national parties, parliamentary tricks, or trading of “earmarks” with other members.

Doing Congressional business will be more democratic and open.

Isn’t that what the Founders intended?

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The Day by Day Archive

I agree with Mickey Kaus that the Tea Party was a major contributing factor in the defeat of the DREAM Act. Also, read Roy Beck’s of Numbers USA piece here.

But, the Club for Growth, Senator Jim DeMint’s PAC, Sarah Palin and other conservative grass root groups also organized/enabled rank and file conservative activists to buck/challenge establishment GOP candidates and hold them accountable for squishy left-leaning votes (like voting for any type of  illegal alien amnesty masquerading as comprehensive immigration reform).

Two other races that come to mind are Utah Senator Bob Bennett (who voted for DREAM) who was defeated for GOP renomination (hence Orrin Hatch’s absence from voting on DREAM and perhaps the Montana Democrats voting No) and Pennsylvania’s long time Senator Arlen Specter who switched parties (when it was apparent he would not win GOP re-nomination) and then was beaten in the general election (Specter did vote for DREAM).

After seeing what happened to their colleagues, there is little doubt that long term Republican Senators felt more comfortable in voting with their caucus than to be a maverick and face the wrath of a contested primary election their next election.

Republican incumbent GOP Senators and Representatives will be held accountable for their political actions. With Twitter, YouTube and Facebook covering/documenting their every vote, fundraisers and speeches, they will vote their conservative constituencies or be replaced with candidates that will. This is especially true in small population states with less expensive media markets e.g. Indiana, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska.

Yeah Mickey, Democracy is a wonderful thing.

Chris, Sam certainly knows how to send off her man, Zed – with the important things in life. We know he will want a short tour with what awaits him when he returns stateside.

Maybe Zed will return home in July 2011 as President Obama promised.

Doubtful as the Obama Afghanistan deadline has been triangulated to 2014 – after he is out of office!

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The Day By Day Archive

Any type of amnesty for illegal aliens is not going to happen until the southern border with Mexico is secured. The U.S. Senate made it clear today.

The weeks of rallies, hunger strikes and sit-ins and the thousands of phone calls placed to Senate offices didn’t pay off for immigration activists.

The decade-old DREAM Act once again failed to break a filibuster in the Senate on Saturday morning, effectively killing the bill this year and shutting the door on what perhaps was the last chance for pro-immigration reform legislation until at least the 2012 election.

Senate Democrats came up five votes short of the 60 needed to advance the House-passed bill, which would provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants brought to the country as children if they attend college or join the military for two years.

The 55-41 vote was mostly along party lines, though a handful of Democrats — perhaps fearful of their 2012 election outlook — also voted against the DREAM Act.

Mickey Kaus has the politics of the vote here.

Swing votes:  Lincoln—yes …Brownback—no … Scott Brown—no … Tester— no … Snowe—no … Nelson—no … Kirk—no … Sherrod Brown—yes … Lemieux—no … Baucus—no … Webb—yes … Voinovich—no … McCaskill—yes … Hagan—no … Murkowski—yes … Hutchison—no … Collins—no …

Final vote: 55 yes, 41 no … DREAM fails to get cloture. It looks like a close thing. My side’s line will (not implausibly) be that the DREAMers fell five votes short of the 60 they needed  … The four senators who ducked having to vote include Manchin, who seems a bit cowardly for that. Maybe he has an excuse. [Update: Politico says he put out a statement opposing DREAM.] Also Hatch, Gregg, and Bunning. At least those last two seem like “no” votes, and none of the three was a sure yes … All in all, five Dems voted no (Tester, Baucus, Pryor, Ben Nelson, Hagan) … Semi-surprise “yes” vote: Dorgan, retiring Democrat who has on occasion been a “comprehensive reform”-skeptic from the old-school union, anti-cheap labor point of view. During the informative (only 50% cheerleading) lo-fi Numbers USA live feed, Rosemary Jenks attributes this to Dorgan’s desire to take a university position when he retires. I guess you can’t be a college president and oppose DREAM …

The fact is the DREAM Act has been languishing in the Congress for a decade and with GOP regaining control of the House, it will be DEAD for at least two years.

Now, is the time for the Congress to vote to secure the border with Mexico and stop the influx of illegal aliens. It is out of control in California and will have REAL political effects for the GOP and America, if the diluge is NOT stopped and stopped now.

Thanks to those Senators who opposed this illegal alien amnesty – now get to work to close off that border!