• Abortion,  CA-26,  EMILY's List,  Julia Brownley,  Linda Parks,  Tony Strickland

    CA-26: Julia Brownley Supported by Pro-Abortion EMILY’s List

    California Democrat Assemblywoman Julia Brownley

    Julia Brownley is now on the LIST.

    Four more female House candidates have grabbed the attention of EMILY’s List, a Democratic political action committee (PAC) that supports women who favor abortion rights.

    Democrats Jessica Ehrlich in Florida, Shelley Adler in New Jersey, Julia Brownley in California and Joyce Healy-Abrams in Ohio have been put “On the List,” one stop short of a full endorsement. The designation will give the four candidates access to the PAC’s fundraising base while they work to meet additional benchmarks.

    “From Republican efforts to put your boss in charge of your healthcare coverage to Rush Limbaugh’s vile attacks on women who dare to speak up for themselves, the GOP is waging an all-out war on women,” EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock said in a statement. “Now more than ever, we need strong leaders like Shelley, Julia, Jessica and Joyce in Congress in order to make Washington work for women and families.”

    This will provide significant resources for Brownley in this race who is running against four other Democrats, one independent, Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks and a Republican, California State Senator Tony Strickland.

    Filing closes for this race tomorrow at 5 PM.

  • Jane Fonda,  Rush Limbaugh

    Traitor Jane Fonda Wants Rush Limbaugh Kicked Off the Radio – Really?



    Jane Fonda cavorting with North Vietnamese Troops (sitting on an anti-aircraft gun)

    Jane, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem are the Co-Founders of the Women’s Media Center and they penned this piece regarding Rush-Fluke flap.

    The FCC takes such complaints into consideration when stations file for license renewal. For local listeners near a station that carries Limbaugh’s show, there is plenty of evidence to bring to the FCC that their station isn’t carrying out its public interest obligation. Complaints can be registered under the broadcast category of the FCC website: http://www.fcc.gov/complaints

    This isn’t political. While we disagree with Limbaugh’s politics, what’s at stake is the fallout of a society tolerating toxic, hate-inciting speech. For 20 years, Limbaugh has hidden behind the First Amendment, or else claimed he’s really “doing humor” or “entertainment.” He is indeed constitutionally entitled to his opinions, but he is not constitutionally entitled to the people’s airways.

    It’s time for the public to take back our broadcast resources. Limbaugh has had decades to fix his show. Now it’s up to us.

    Fonda is a traitor and aided and abetted America’s enemies.

    Go away….

    Dan Riehl over at Breitbart.com has some information on some of the comments attributed to Limbaugh and more on Fonda.

    Note this photo of Jane sine bra:

  • Electoral College,  President 2012

    President 2012: New Battleground Electoral College Map

    From 270 to Win

    First Read at MSNBC has a new battleground President 2012 Electoral College projection map and it is embedded above.

    Much has changed since we last ran our NBC presidential battleground map back in early November. (Has it REALLY been that long?) The economy and labor market have improved; President Obama’s approval numbers have risen after his debt-ceiling blues; and the Republican primary contest has turned into a knock-down, drag-out fight. And that explains why our Electoral College scorecard has gone from 196 D vs. 195 R (with 147 toss-up electoral votes) back in November, to 222 D vs. 197 R with (119 toss-up). The big changes: We’ve moved Michigan and Wisconsin from toss-up to Lean Dem, reflecting Obama’s improved strength in both states; we’ve moved New Hampshire from Lean GOP to Toss-up; and we’ve moved Iowa from Toss-up to Lean GOP. The map and the changes on it are based on the public and private polling we’ve seen, as well as our conversations with operatives studying the battlegrounds. Again, we do not make our judgments SOLELY on public polling or based on poll averages.

    No big deal here.

    The race continues to come down to just a few states: New Hampshire, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina and Nevada.

    Here is my take on the race (and, my Electoral College map), some months ago and I don’t think things have changed much.

    This map is from the interactive site, 270towin.com

    However, should Nevada flip to Obama, there would then be a 269 vs. 269 tie and the House of Representatives (GOP controlled and destined to stay that way) will decide the Presidency.

    This will either be a close race with my scenario above or President Obama will win an easy re-election.

    I guess we will find out, once the Republicans choose their nominee.

  • GOP,  President 2012

    President 2012: GOP Debate in Arizona Tonight – A Season Finale?

    GOP Presidential Candidates Set to Square Off in Pivotal Arizona Debate

    Well, perhaps – The debate will be the last one before Super Tuesday.

    It’s been 26 days since the candidates left the stage at the last CNN debate in Jacksonville, Florida, and the growling hunger pangs of the media have grown louder even as the candidates grow weary.

    There have been 19 Republican presidential debates so far, and while some may have debate fatigue — including a few candidates — the forums have nevertheless proved to be illuminating experiences. They have garnered sky-high TV ratings and have become “event” television. They have helped to define several candidates while others fall from grace in front of the live cameras.

    The debates return Wednesday night in Mesa, Arizona, as CNN partners with the Republican Party of Arizona to bring America the final debate before Super Tuesday, and what may be the final debate of the season.

    The debate will be at 5 PM Pacific time on CNN.

    The debate Twitter hashtag is #CNNDebate and I will be proving my comments @Flap.

  • GOP,  Polling,  President 2012

    President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Republican Voters Don’t Want a Brokered Convention



    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    Republicans by a better than 2-to-1 margin would prefer that one of the four remaining GOP presidential candidates win enough delegates in the primaries and caucuses to secure the nomination, rather than having a brokered convention that could then choose another person to be the party’s presidential nominee.

    Republicans prefer to avoid having the presidential candidate chosen at the convention even though a majority say they wish someone else was running for the party’s nomination. Forty-four percent are pleased with the selection of candidates. These results are based on a Feb. 16-19 USA Today/Gallup poll.

    I don’t believe most Republicans even understand the nomination process – just who emerges as the victor.

    If a stronger candidate comes out of the convention, which I believe will, than the current field – then so be it.

    The current GOP Presidential field is weak and after the first ballot when delegates are released to vote for whomever and state delegations make deals, you may see a stronger candidate emerge.

    Whoever wants the nomination and whoever can organize their troops on the convention floor will win.

    Anyone want to guess who will emerge?

    My bet is Jeb Bush or Sarah Palin.

  • Gay Marriage,  Proposition 8

    Voter Approved California Proposition 8 Outlawing Gay Marriage Ruled Unconstitutional By Federal Appeals Court

    A federal appeals court on Tuesday declared California’s same-sex marriage ban to be unconstitutional, putting the bitterly contested, voter-approved law on track for likely consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court.

    A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that a lower court judge correctly interpreted the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court precedents when he declared in 2010 that Proposition 8 was a violation of the civil rights of gays and lesbians.

    It was unclear when gay marriages might resume in California. Lawyers for Proposition 8 sponsors and for the two couples who successfully sued to overturn the ban have repeatedly said they would consider appealing to a larger panel of the court and then the U.S. Supreme Court if they did not receive a favorable ruling from the 9th Circuit.

    “Although the Constitution permits communities to enact most laws they believe to be desirable, it requires that there be at least a legitimate reason for the passage of a law that treats different classes of people differently. There was no such reason that Proposition 8 could have been enacted,” the ruling states.

    The panel also said there was no evidence that former Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker was biased and should have disclosed before he issued his decision that he was gay and in a long-term relationship with another man.

    The ruling came more than a year after the appeals court heard arguments in the case.

    Proposition 8 backers had asked the 9th Circuit to set aside Walker’s ruling on both constitutional grounds and because of the thorny issue of the judge’s personal life. It was the first instance of an American jurist’s sexual orientation being cited as grounds for overturning a court decision.

    Walker publicly revealed he was gay after he retired. However, supporters of the gay marriage ban argued that he had been obliged to previously reveal if he wanted to marry his partner — like the gay couples who sued to overturn the ban.

    Walker’s successor as the chief federal judge in Northern California, James Ware, rejected those claims, and the 9th Circuit held a hearing on the conflict-of-interest question in December.

    California voters passed Proposition 8 with 52 percent of the vote in November 2008, five months after the state Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage by striking down a pair of laws that had limited marriage to a man and a woman.

    The ballot measure inserted the one man-one woman provision into the California Constitution, thereby overruling the court’s decision. It was the first such ban to take away marriage rights from same-sex couples after they had already secured them and its passage followed the most expensive campaign on a social issue in the nation’s history.

    The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and the Law, a think tank based at the University of California, Los Angeles, has estimated that 18,000 couples tied the knot during the four-month window before Proposition 8 took effect. The California Supreme Court upheld those marriages, but ruled that voters had properly enacted the law.

    Here is the decision:

    10-16696 #398_Decision

    So, what comes next?

    Obviously, a stay in the order while the pro-Proposition 8 attorneys appeal the decision to either the full en banc Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals or directly to the United States Supreme court. This process either way will delay a final decision in the case for at least two years and possibly three.

    There is also the probability that gay marriage advocates will go back to the ballot to overturn the voter approved Proposition 8.

  • Gay Marriage,  Proposition 8

    California Proposition 8 on Gay Marriage to Be Ruled Unconstitutional Tomorrow?

    More than likely by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

    The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to release its opinion on the constitutionality of California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage Tuesday morning.

    The appeals court is deciding whether to uphold or reverse a federal judge’s 2010 ruling that Proposition 8, which was approved by voters in 2008, was unconstitutional. Regardless of the outcome, the decision is expected to be appealed to the United States Supreme Court.

    The opinion will be posted online at 10 a.m, according to a press release from the court.

    Judge Reinhardt and Judge Hawkins will probably vote to affirm Federal District Court Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional and that Walker did not need to recuse himself (obviously).

    The decision will be stayed and the U.S. Supreme Court will take up the issue in the next term beginning in October 2012.

  • GOP,  Polling

    Cheer Up Republicans: More States Go RED in 2011

    According to the latest Gallup analysis.

    Democrats have lost their solid political party affiliation advantage in 18 states since 2008, while Republicans have gained a solid advantage in 6 states. A total of 17 states were either solidly Republican or leaning Republican in their residents’ party affiliation in 2011, up from 10 in 2010 and 5 in 2008. Meanwhile, 19 states including the District of Columbia showed a solid or leaning Democratic orientation, down from 23 in 2010 and 36 in 2008. The remaining 15 states were relatively balanced politically, with neither party having a clear advantage.

    Here is the chart:

    Remember in 2008 after the Obama victory when the LEFT blogs and MSM sites were crowing that the Republican Party had become merely a “regional” party?

    Uh, well look again.

    Looks to me that the same can be said of the Democratic Party today. New York, Illinois and California and their large urban populations are the major portions of the 2012 Democratic Party – hardly a majority in America.

    A more extensive chart of state by state data is here.

    So, Republicans cheer up!

    The GOP controls the House and may very well win control of the U.S. Senate in November.

    As for the Presidency, the race may be tough, especially with an improving economy, but the gains made since 2008 have been staggering. Obama and the Democrats WILL have a race on their hands this summer and fall.

    In the last four years, the political leanings of Americans have increasingly moved toward the Republican Party after shifting decidedly Democratic between 2005 and 2008. In 2008, Democrats had one of the largest advantages in party affiliation they have had in the last 20 years, likely because of the unpopularity of President George W. Bush in the latter years of his presidency. Prior to that, the parties were more evenly balanced. So the movement away from the Democratic Party may just be a return to a more normal state of political affairs from an unusual situation, rather than a rejection of the Democrats per se.

    The net result of the movement is that the nation looks to be essentially even in terms of its party loyalties headed into a presidential election year. Clearly, President Obama faces a much less favorable environment as he seeks a second term in office than he did when he was elected president.

    Also, here is a chart of the states with the most competitive party affiliation (really the key battleground states for 2012):