It’s A Bong! John McCain’s Man Helps Out Barack Obama

It’s A Bong! John McCain’s Man Helps Out Barack Obama

May 25th

THE US Presidential race is getting intesting.

Barack Obama says:

"This country is united in our support for our troops, but we also owe them a plan to relieve them of the burden of policing someone else's civil war. Governor Romney and Senator McCain clearly believe the course we are on in Iraq is working, but I do not.

"And if there ever was a reflection of that it's the fact that Senator McCain required a flack jacket, ten armored Humvees, two Apache attack helicopters, and 100 soldiers with rifles by his side to stroll through a market in Baghdad just a few weeks ago.

"Governor Romney and Senator McCain are still supporting a war that has cost us thousands of lives, made us less safe in the world, and resulted in a resurgence of al-Qaeda. It is time to end this war so that we can redeploy our forces to focus on the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 and all those who plan to do us harm."

Says war hero John McCain:

"While Senator Obama's two years in the U.S. Senate certainly entitle him to vote against funding our troops, my service and experience combined with conversations with military leaders on the ground in Iraq lead me to believe that we must give this new strategy a chance to succeed because the consequences of failure would be catastrophic to our nation's security."

And:

"By the way, Senator Obama, it's a 'flak' jacket, not a 'flack' jacket."

Ooooo...Get her.

And now a McCain aide floats in:

"Obama wouldn't know the difference between an RPG and a bong."

RPG? Rocket Propelled Grenade? Or a new kind of weed?

Mitt Romney Owns It by Chris Kelly

Mitt Romney Owns It by Chris Kelly

"Mitt made the final decision last Christmas after discussing it with Ann, their five sons, and their five wives." - Newsmax 5/23/07. Ronald Kessler says more about the Romney family than he probably should.

Mitt Romney is raising more money than all the other Republican candidates. He's also leading in the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire.

When the dust settles, and the candidates with anger management issues and/or cancer fall away, Mitt Romney will be the nominee, and I think I know why: Because Mitt Romney is the first candidate to take pandering so far beyond cynicism that it's not even cynicism anymore. It's Romantic Irony.

Romantic irony -- the most wistful irony of all -- occurs when a character draws attention to the fact that he's just a character, or a narrator interrupts a story to remind the audience that it's just a story. And Mitt Romney -- alone among presidential hopefuls -- understands that he's a character in a work of art and that his character's job is to say anything, to anyone, at any time, to get elected.

There aren't any contradictions, because life is all made up anyway. He only appears to be a compulsive liar. Actually, he's capturing what Friedrich Schlegel called the "clear consciousness of eternal agility, of an infinitely teeming chaos."

Yes, he seems like the oily trimmer in the mind of God. (Romney, not Schlegel.) But that's the whole point. He knows the mind of God is the only place where we exist. (Or, as Paul McCartney would put it, though we feel as if we're in a play, we are anyway.) Mitt Romney understands that in fiction, there's no such thing as "true" and "false." A character's only truth is internal consistency.

If you think it's inconsistent for him to change sides all the time, you're missing the point. When he had to be pro-choice to get elected, he was pro-choice. When he had to be pro-life, he was pro-life. When he had to support civil rights for gays and lesbians, he did. Now that he doesn't, he doesn't. Guns? Campaign finance reform? Immigration? Tax cuts? Abortion? He's been as dependable as an atomic clock: He's changed his mind on everything.

Mitt Romney is totally consistent as a character. He's a perfect, tidal-in-its-relentlessness, rockin' round the clock, 24/7, nonstop sleaze.

When you employ romantic irony in television, it's called "owning it." This happens when a situation is so sit-commy, the characters themselves have to notice. This occurs mostly in your cool, post-modern-type sit coms. It's a way for the writers to make themselves feel better, and suck up to the audience while serving them the same old crap.

Here's a bad, tired sit-com, the kind Entertainment Weekly hates:

"Oh my God! Not only do I have jury duty the day of the big game, but the foreman is Urkel!"

Here's a great, deconstructed, meta-sitcom, the kind Entertainment Weekly loves:

"Oh my God! Not only do I have jury duty the day of the big game, but the foreman is Urkel! I feel like I'm in a sit-com!"

See how easy it is, once you know how?

Daytime dramas have been employing romantic irony for decades, but only in dialogue, in the form of incredulous sarcasm. The characters have achieved a certain level of self-awareness, but it hasn't made them happy. It just makes their predicaments all the more galling. Of course Windsor is having an affair with Wedge - that what makes it sting. Scenes are an escalating series rhetorical questions, built out of sarcastic clichés.

TIMBER
So, that's your "brilliant plan?" I'm supposed to "stand aside" while you and Wedge "waltz away" to your little "love nest" like some "match made in heaven?"

WINDSOR
"Grow up," Timber. Did you "honestly think" Wedge was your "knight in shining armor" when he "swept you away" and made you his "blushing bride?"

This rule, of course, does not apply to one true jewel of daytime, The Bold and the Beautiful. Which is perfect, except for Phoebe and Rick- why can't she see through him?

On primetime dramas - sophisticated primetime dramas -- the characters use romantic irony by saying "this is the part" to each other.

GARY
(A woman, by the way, all attractive women on sophisticated hours have men's names.)
Hey, Doyle, can I talk to you about this assignment?

DOYLE
(Her editor. Men on sophisticated hours go by their last names, even if they're in high school.)
I don't have time for this, Gary. This is the part where you say you don't want to work with McGillicuddy and this is the part where I say you have to. And this is the part where you say is that an order and this is the part where I say yes.

See how not sh__ty that is?

The quality of a television show is in direct inverse proportion to the number of times a character says: "This is the part..."

I want Mitt Romney to start answering questions: "This is the part where I tell you what you want to hear." It's a long time until next November. It could happen.

Giuliani, Obama win picnic poll

Giuliani, Obama win picnic poll

Associated Press - May 25, 2007 2:23 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AP) - A new poll says Rudy Giuliani and Barack Obama would be the most welcome among the presidential candidates at a Memorial Day picnic.

People were asked which candidate they'd most like to chat with at a picnic.

In the Quinnipiac poll, the former New York City mayor was picked by 37% of all those polled when pitted against three other Republicans.

Obama was chosen by 33% when grouped with three other Democrats.

John McCain was second among Republicans with 27%, while Hillary Rodham Clinton was second among Democrats at 24%.

Hillary camp embarrassed after 'ignore Iowa' memo is leaked

Hillary camp embarrassed after 'ignore Iowa' memo is leaked

Friday, May 25, 2007

By Rupert Cornwell in Washington

Hillary Clinton's super-organised, impeccably on-message campaign for the White House has suffered a first embarrassment with the leak of an internal memo that urges her to skip the key early caucuses in Iowa - on the ground she has better places to spend money than on a contest she may well lose.

Yesterday, Clinton aides were playing down the memo as the unsolicited musings of a minion, which had never been seen by the lady herself and her most senior advisers. They insisted she would make a major effort in Iowa, whose caucuses - set for 14 January next year - traditionally kick off the primary season.


"It's not the opinion of the campaign," Ms Clinton herself said in response to a question about the memo, and "It's not my opinion."


In fact, the document, entitled An Alternative Nomination Strategy, was written by her deputy campaign manager Mike Henry. At the very least, analysts say, it reflects divisions within the camp of the 2008 Democratic front-runner, as well as the new problems thrown up by the tightly bunched primary calendar.


Iowa's role in the nominating process has usually been pivotal - 13 out of the 14 most recent major party nominees won either there or in New Hampshire, the first primary state (the exception being Bill Clinton in 1992). But its traditionally liberal, anti-war Democratic electorate is not friendly territory for Ms Clinton, who still refuses to disown her 2002 vote authorising the Iraq invasion.


John Edwards, the 2004 vice-presidential nominee who has turned resolutely anti-war, leads in most Iowa polls. He is followed by Barack Obama, who opposed the war from before its outset.


But the question is, is Iowa, or for that matter New Hampshire, really that important any longer? "I think the old system [giving such importance to these two states] is about to collapse, and it will happen this year," Mr Henry wrote, pointing to the compression of the calendar and the emergence of what is in effect a "national primary" on 5 February.


On that date, California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois are among 20 states holding primaries. Florida, the fourth largest state in terms of delegates to the nominating convention in Denver, has gone further still, pushing its primary to 29 January. The bunching has forced every candidate to rethink their strategy. The development "forces us to reassess... where our time and money are best spent," the memo reads.


The front-loading means both party nominations could be, in effect, settled in February, leaving a six-month gap before the conventions.


Fiercely proud of their "first in the nation" status, Iowa and New Hampshire have said they will move their votes forward as far as necessary, to preserve their importance.

Tax cut for light bulbs? Great Idea!

Tax cut for light bulbs?

Two conservative Utah House members want to give every Utah family $30 in a tax cut to purchase long-lasting light bulbs.

Reps. Carl Wimmer, R-Heriman, and Greg Hughes, R-Draper, say the $21 million cost of their energy-saving program will cut more than $200 million in electrical costs, which in turn will mean more money for state tax coffers.

This is "an innovative way to cut taxes and energy usage and improve air quality," the pair said in a press release Friday.

They've nick-named their program "A Bright Idea for Utah." The pair will introduce the $30 tax cut in the 2008 Legislature, which convenes in January.

You couldn't spend the $30 on just anything. The $30 would be a voucher, and you could only use the voucher to buy energy-saving fluorescent gas bulbs, which use less electricity and last longer than the old light bulbs which burn a small fiber to make light.

The new bulbs, the men say, use 75 percent less energy and one of them can last the life of 10 old bulbs.

While the new program may seem costly to some — $21 million — the state is actually running tax surpluses of hundreds of millions of dollars this year. And lawmakers gave a $200 million tax cut in the 2007 Legislature.

In short, the state can afford this new, one-time energy-saving program, the two legislators said. The average family would save $285 a year — $255 in energy savings and $30 in the tax cut. The electrical savings equals 65 million gallons of gasoline, the pair claim, or getting 433,000 cars off of Utah roads for a year in reduced green-house gasses.

Other western states may join in this effort, they said. And if all 50 state legislatures did the same thing, it would save $40 billion in energy, equal to taking every car, bus and truck off of America's roads for 26 days, the legislators said.

The case for Giuliani

The case for Giuliani

By CHUCK RAASCH
GNS Political Writer

May 24, 2007

WASHINGTON — When Rudy Giuliani was again cornered on his views favoring abortion rights, gay rights and gun control at the May 15 Republican debate, he offered a defense that got scant attention but could end up being the Republicans’ campaign slogan in 2008.

Giuliani threw out the political equivalent of a bullfighter’s red cape to a Republican audience: the possibility of a Hillary Clinton presidency.

“There’s something really big at stake here,” Giuliani said. “We’re looking at a race here in which the leading candidate for president of the United States (Clinton) has said that the unfettered free market is the most disastrous thing in modern America. ... She’s also said, with regard to taxes, that we have to take money from you in order to give it to the common good.”

Republicans, Giuliani pleaded, “should be uniting to make certain that what the liberal media is talking about, our inevitable defeat, doesn’t happen.”

Giuliani’s later smackdown of libertarian Ron Paul, who’d suggested that 9/11 was the result of U.S. involvement in Iraq, grabbed all the headlines. But the electability argument seems to be growing among Republicans. Given his differences with rank-and-file Republicans, it may turn out to be Giuliani’s only argument, but it also explains why his nomination looks more likely than it did six months ago.

Democrats have been there, done that, with John Kerry in 2004, demonstrating electability is no proven path to the White House. But in 2008, the prospect of another Clinton in the White House may be the only thing strong enough to keep dispirited Republicans together, and excited. Giuliani continues to lead national GOP primary polls because his post-9/11 mayoral-national security persona continues to trump his considerable differences with the Republican base on the social issues that coalesce that base. The argument for Giuliani is buttressed by polls showing him leading Clinton in the most important swing states.

Here is Giuliani’s case, by the numbers:

— He remains, by a healthy margin, the most popular candidate on the national presidential stage, even more popular than Sen. Barack Obama. While Clinton’s favorable rating was 50 percent and her unfavorable was 47 percent in a May 4-6 USA TODAY-Gallup poll, Giuliani’s was 61-24. That bested Obama (50-24), Republican rival John McCain (50-30) and Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards (49-31). The 9/11 attack may have made Giuliani the closest thing to a Teflon candidate we’ll see in 2008, even more than Obama, whose buzz is based more on promise than performance.

— In late April polls, Quinnipiac University had Giuliani leading Clinton in the swing states of New Jersey (by 9 percentage points), Florida (8), Ohio (5) and Pennsylvania (4). In all three states, ex-Vice President Al Gore did slightly better against Giuliani than Clinton did, though Gore is not running. By contrast, McCain and Clinton were virtually tied in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida.

If it is Clinton versus Giuliani in 2008, the ex-New York mayor would have a slight head start in the Electoral College. Giuliani would likely begin as a prohibitive favorite in Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming. A few of those states have not voted for a Democrat for president since 1964. Together, they have 75 electoral votes.

Clinton, meanwhile, might only have slam dunks in the District of Columbia (3 electoral votes), possibly Massachusetts (12), and potentially California (55), although there are signs Republicans could be competitive with either McCain or Giuliani in California for the first time since 1988. In an early April Field Poll, Giuliani trailed Clinton by 13 percentage points — 53-40 — while Clinton led McCain by just 5 in the same poll.

Pundits who expected Giuliani to fold in a New York minute once his views on abortion and gay rights became known were wrong. He’s been battered twice in Republican debates now, provided a confusing answer on abortion in one and still remains the GOP front-runner.

The day after the South Carolina debate, veteran direct-mail operative Richard Viguerie said if Giuliani is the nominee in ’08, the Republican Party would be history.

“Rudy Giuliani is wrong on all the social issues, is wrong on the Second Amendment and is pretty much a blank slate on all other issues of importance to conservatives,” Viguerie said. “If the Republican Party nominates him, it is saying to the American people that it has lost all purpose except the raw political desire to hold power.”

Maybe so. But in ’08, the desire to deny the Clintons political power may be the one thing that can hold Republicans together and bring them back.

Chuck Raasch is political editor for Gannett News Service, 7950 Jones Branch Road, McLean, VA 22107. Send e-mail to craasch@gns.gannett.com. Read his Furthermore blog in the Opinion section of StatesmanJournal.com.

Giuliani Names Fundraising Team

Giuliani Names Fundraising Team
Giuliani Picks Team of Fundraisers, Gives Them Financial Goals for Campaign
Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani speaks in New York, Monday, May 21, 2007. Giuliani was there to receive the endorsement of local New York politicians for his 2008 presidential run. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)The Associated Press WASHINGTON May 24, 2007 (AP)

When it comes to fundraising, Rudy Giuliani wants to hit it out of the park. The former New York mayor's presidential campaign on Thursday named 20 men and women under the age of 45 to be among his lead fundraisers, giving them goals of raising between $25,000 and $1 million.

Pikers who raise the lowest amount will get the title of All-American Pitcher. Those who bundle $50,000 in contributions will be All-American Sluggers; $100,000 will be All-American All Stars; and $200,000 will be All-American MVPs. A fundraiser who amasses $1 million for Giuliani gets to be All-American Team Captain.


The team's national chairman will be Bryan Pickens, owner of a Dallas investment firm and a former fundraiser for President Bush. He is not related to billionaire T. Boone Pickens.

Other team leaders include Donald Trump Jr., the son of the New York real estate magnate; Scott Bungaard, a former Arizona state senator; John Mascialino, a former deputy mayor under Giuliani; and Milam Mabry, a Washington lobbyist in the law firm of Bracewell & Giuliani. Others are newer to politics but presumably have an extensive list of personal and business contacts they can tap to help Giuliani build his campaign treasury.

Mitt Romney: Media Must 'Police Itself'

Thursday, May 24, 2007 7:23 a.m. EDT
Mitt Romney: Media Must 'Police Itself'

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney criticized ABC News on Wednesday for its report about CIA plans in Iran, saying it could potentially jeopardize national security and endanger lives.

ABC News rejected Romney's analysis, and said it had given the CIA a chance to make the case that its report put people at risk, but the agency didn't respond.

The network led its top-rated "World News" on Tuesday with Brian Ross' report saying that President Bush had directed the CIA to carry out secret operations against Iran both inside and outside that country. The network said the campaign was "non-lethal," and involved propaganda broadcasts, the planting of newspaper articles and the manipulation of Iran's currency and banking transactions.

Romney, during a campaign appearance in Tulsa, Okla., said he was shocked that ABC News would broadcast the report.

Read the full story...
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/5/24/73258.shtml

Mark Towner

Rudy's Big QuestionIs Giuliani too liberal for the GOP? Probably not.

Rudy's Big QuestionIs Giuliani too liberal for the GOP? Probably not. Here's why.By John DickersonUpdated Thursday, May 24, 2007, at 2:52 PM ET

This is the first in a series of articles exploring the key question facing each presidential candidate.

Listen to this story on NPR's Day to Day.

Even though he lived a few blocks from Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Rudy Giuliani grew up a New York Yankees fan. "The reason my father taught me how to box was to defend myself against Dodgers fans," he writes in his book Leadership. As a candidate for the Republican nomination, Giuliani once again finds himself out of place in a tough neighborhood. He's a pro-choice, pro-gay-rights candidate seeking to lead a party dominated by Christian evangelical voters who hate those positions. Giuliani's three marriages, the charges of adultery that led to the very public flameout of his second one, and an open feud with his children also threaten his standing among social-conservative voters. Conservative leaders are always stirred up about something, but Giuliani seems to have gotten them in a particular snit. Radio host James Dobson denounced him so thoroughly you'd think Rudy was running on a platform of free porn.

Read the full story....

http://www.slate.com/id/2166949/

Mark Towner

Mitt Romney Speaks to Local Republican Party

Published Thursday, May 24, 2007
Mitt Romney Speaks to Local Republican Party

By Bill Rufty
LAKELAND -- The immigration bill now before Congress must be rewritten so that it does not reward the 12 million illegal immigrants in this country, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney told a crowd of 305 at the Polk County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner in Lakeland this evening.

Although he refused to use the word “amnesty,” as other opponents of the current immigration bill have, Romney said he doesn’t mind if illegal immigrants apply for legal work visas, but not before those who have obeyed the law by staying in their own country to apply have done so first.The specifics of whether they should go back to their countries of origin to apply for a visa or pay a fine can be worked out after first securing the borders and developing a system for determining the legality of an immigrant employee, he said.It was the second year in a row that the local Republican Party has hosted a major national GOP figure at its annual dinner.

U.S. Sen. John McCain, who like Romney is running for the Republican nomination for president, was the keynote speaker last year.Romney also said that the early presidential primary date for Florida makes the state an important, multiple stop for all candidates. Florida moved its primary in 2008 from March to January.For the complete story of Romney’s speech and press conference, see Friday’s edition of The Ledger.

Political Campaigns Future Technology

Political Campaigns Future Technology
As a former CEO with nearly 25 years IT experience I have been trying to push for the use of technology to improve communication within Political Campaigns and Political Parties.

In 2002 I introduced the INTRANET technology of web based campaign technologies. These technologies were then used very heavily in 2004 by several campaigns I was associated. From 2004 to 2006 I have been involved on development of additional tools to assist political campaigns and parties in their efforts to organize and distribute action plan items to those people who have offered help to a campaign.

This is no easy task as anyone who has tried to organize volunteers knows well.

The following article from Utah Policy Daily again talks about technology that I and many other IPO (Internet Political Operatives) are using.

Enjoy Spyglass readers, and well done LaVarr in bringing this technology to light.

Captain Mark

From Today’s Utah Policy Daily:

What is Distributed Campaigning?“Distributed campaigning” is an adaptation of the term “distributed computing,” which is defined as “the use of multiple computers networked throughout a wide geographical area to solve a single problem.” Distributed Computing was popularized by the SETI@Home Project in which at-home users could set up their computers to assist the SETI project when they were not otherwise in use. The home computers would automatically download sets of data to work on, process them and send the result back to the main SETI servers.In Distributed Campaigning, political campaigns likewise maximize their power and impact through Internet-based tools that allow supporters to easily assist the campaign from their homes. For example, via the web, volunteers could download lists of voters, call them, and send the results back to the campaigns’ website. (Read the entire tip by Benjamin Katz at Complete Campaigns.

Free Capitalist Headlines: C Rick Koerber

Protests Mount Over Venezuela TV
From BBC
Staff and supporters of a Venezuelan TV station that is due to be taken off air have unveiled a kilometre-long banner in Caracas in support of press freedom.


Senate Puts Off Action on Immigration
From AP
Senate leaders agreed Monday that they would wait until June to take final action on a bipartisan plan to give millions of unlawful immigrants legal status.
Related: Martinez: Immigration Bill Could Save GOP Principle 2


Aspiring Abortion Doctors Drawn to Embattled Field
From LA Times
Medical students cite defiance and conscience as a reason to choose the career. 'It doesn't matter what you believe if you don't back it up with action,' one says. Principle 5


Family not Told Their Home Was Site of Murder
From Fox News
A family in Central Florida is outraged that they were kept in the dark about their new house's dark secret: A triple murder and suicide happened within the four walls they'd just begun to call home. Principle 3


Supreme Court Dismisses Lawsuit in Mistaken Search
From Baltimore Sun
Mistakes sometimes happen, the Supreme Court said yesterday, and threw out a lawsuit brought by a white couple in Southern California who were rousted from bed and held naked at gunpoint by deputies looking for several black suspects. Principle 4


Religious Leaders Urge Action on Warming
From Yahoo! News
Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders are urging President George W. Bush and Congress to take action against global warming, declaring that the changing climate is a "moral and spiritual issue."
Related: Market for Carbon Offsets Raises Questions Principle 3


Why the Left Hated Jerry Falwell So Much
From American Thinker
Jerry Falwell's funeral is today, and now that he is being laid to rest, it is appropriate to dissect the vicious treatment he has received at the hands of his enemies since his unexpected demise.
Related: Evangelicals at a Crossroads As Falwell's Generation Fades Principle 4


Kid's Mom Sues Baseball Coach
From New York Post
A Staten Island mom is blaming her son's injury during a Little League game on a bum education in base-running. Principle 4


The End of Free Trade
From The Weekly Standard
So it does indeed end with a whimper rather than a bang. Free trade, I mean. Thanks to a president too weak politically to withstand the protectionist surge of a Democratic Congress, the era of ever-freer trade has come to an end. Principle 8

Is Utah GOP Ready to Rumble? Flordia Again wants the Spotlight

Several months ago I posted a suggestion that Utah move up its Presidential Primary into January, because if they wait until Super Duper Tuesday in February, Utah will have no impact on the National Election. Because the total delegate's elected on Super Duper Tuesday will be a majority, it's very likely that the respective candidates for both parties will be chosen on this day.

So the real question is why even have a National convention? Why spend the money on a State wide election that will likely have a pre-determined outcome by the time we actually get to vote?

The national parties have said to their respective state parties we will take delegates away from you if you hold your election any sooner than Feb 5th. For Utah, who cares? The National Parties have done nothing for Utah for more than two decades, except to reap political donations for elsewhere in the country or other non Utah candidates and nearly bankrupt our State parties.Its crunch time and we need to follow Florida's example and thumb our noses at the National Parties, and dare them to follow through with their threats.

Florida Double-Dares National Parties as Jan. 29 Primary Date is Enacted
By Rachel Kapochunas Mon May 21, 4:15 PM ET

Florida Republican Gov. Charlie Crist signed a sweeping bill Monday altering the state’s electoral procedures — including a controversial provision to move the state’s 2008 presidential primary all the way up to Jan. 29 in defiance of scheduling rules set by both major parties’ national committees.

“Florida’s diverse population will be more influential in the presidential primary process,” read a statement Monday from the governor’s office.
Crist signed House Bill 537 on Monday morning at the Palm Beach County Supervisors of Elections office in West Palm Beach. The bill cleared the Republican-controlled state legislature earlier this month.

The action by Florida officialdom puts a new and contentious wrinkle into the “front-loading” frenzy, the surge of states moving their presidential contests up to dates much earlier than in the past in hopes of having greater influence over the selection of the parties’ nominees.
Both the Democratic National Committee' and (RNC) have set Feb. 5 as the earliest date for primaries and caucuses, with exceptions made only for the traditional “first in the nation” events — the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary — and a handful of other state contests. Though nearly two-dozen states have rushed to fill up the primary calendar on Feb. 5, none before Florida had scheduled an unauthorized contest prior to that date.

Florida has done so in the face of penalties threatened by the RNC and the DNC, which include confiscating some of the state’s delegates to the parties’ national conventions in late summer 2008. In addition, Democratic Party rules stipulate that any candidate who campaigns in a state that has violated Democratic scheduling rules will forfeit delegates the state retains — in effect, shutting out the state altogether.

But supporters of Florida’s move say penalties will not deter candidates from campaigning in the state, which has political influence commensurate with its status as the fourth most-populous state. And some in the large field of contenders already have signaled that those advocates are indeed correct.

The campaign for Republican Rudolph Giuliani, a former mayor of New York City and the current leader in early presidential preference polls of Republican voters, released an appeal Monday to Florida residents, reiterating his desire to win support in the state.
“Rudy Giuliani is the candidate who will win in Florida,” campaign manager Michael DuHaime said in a statement. “We have a strong and growing team on the ground, and the mayor’s optimistic vision for the country is resonating across the state.”

Despite the strong verbal pushback from national party officials, there are efforts under way to try to find a compromise in the dispute. DNC officials say they have been working with Florida Democrats in hopes of finding an alternative, such as making the primary a non-binding presidential preference poll and later holding party-run caucuses at which the actual distribution of convention delegates would be determined.
Steven A. Geller, the Democratic leader in the Florida Senate, sent a letter to DNC Chairman
Howard Dean' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Howard Dean on Thursday urging him to reconsider the threat of penalties. Geller argued that Democrats made efforts to amend the legislation but were stymied by the Republican-controlled legislature. “By threatening to punish Florida Democrats because of actions taken by Florida Republicans, it is the party as a whole which will bear the brunt of your retaliation,” Geller wrote.

The situation might be even a little more awkward on the Republican side, though. Florida Sen. Mel Martinez (news, bio, voting record) was recently installed as the RNC’s general chairman at the request of
President Bush' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> President Bush, and some have questioned whether his homestate loyalties could leave him conflicted over how to enforce penalties for the state’s violation of the party’s scheduling rules.

But Martinez, speaking for the national committee, has thus far remained firm. “The rules are inflexible and it doesn’t matter who is running the RNC,” Martinez said Friday, according to the Associated Press. “Those rules will be enforced because they are part of the rules that were crafted at the last convention and they can’t be changed.”

Ballot Quandary Arrives at Paper Trail. While the primary date change embodied in the legislation signed Monday has stirred a dispute, another major provision is aimed at avoiding the kind of vote-counting chaos that has plagued elections held in the state over recent years.
The bill will require all voting to be conducted using optical scan ballots, paper records that can be used in recounting votes in disputed elections — a requirement that will essentially require localities to ditch the touch-screen computerized voting machines that many had adopted to replace outmoded punch-card ballots.

Punch-card voting was at the center of one of the most epic vote-counting controversies in the nation’s history, which occurred in Florida during the 2000 presidential election. George W. Bush was ultimately declared the winner by a razor-thin margin, which in turn clinched his victory for the White House, though not before local election officials hand-examined many thousands of ballots to determine whether there were “hanging chads” — partially detached punchouts that might indicate an intent to cast a vote for a candidate.

Yet the touch-screen machines that were widely implemented afterwards caused a furor of their own in the 2006 House race in Florida’s 13th Congressional District.
Congress is currently investigating Democratic nominee Christine Jennings’ claim that electronic voting machine errors in Sarasota County caused her narrow defeat by Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan (news, bio, voting record) in the 13th District last November. More than 18,000 undervotes — ballots displaying no choice for the congressional race but choices for other races on the ticket — were recorded in Sarasota County, which Jennings carried.

At a press conference Monday in Sarasota, Jennings commended Crist for ending paperless voting and thanked supporters for what she believes was the nationalization of her effort to overturn the 13th District result.

“Together, we have not only helped bring about real change in Florida, we have also helped this case become central to the national debate over election reform,” Jennings said.
Democratic Rep. Robert Wexler (news, bio, voting record) of Florida’s 19th District, who has been working with Crist to eliminate paperless voting in his home state, was in attendance at the signing ceremony Monday. The legislation appropriates $27.8 million to purchase the optical scan equipment.

Among its other provisions, the bill ends the state’s current requirement that public officials resign their current positions in order to run for federal office and spells out that complaints filed with the Florida Elections Commission must be based on personal experience.

Senator Fred Thompson responds to Michael Moore....

Senator Fred Thompson responds to Michael Moore....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoAB6fz8ENc&mode=related&search=

NY state Republican Party endorses native son Rudy Giuliani for president

NY state Republican Party endorses native son Rudy Giuliani for president

The Associated Press
Published: May 21, 2007


NEW YORK: With frequent references to the leadership Rudy Giuliani showed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the state Republican Party on Monday endorsed its native son for president.

"Only Rudy Giuliani has stood at the abyss of terror and destruction and shown a city, state, nation and, yes, the world the true meaning of leadership," state Republican chairman Joseph Mondello said at the event at a midtown Manhattan hotel.
He said that on Sept. 11, 2001, "this city's mayor became America's mayor, and Rudy Giuliani became a man destined for greatness."

Giuliani said he was pleased with the support.
"I can't tell you how much this means to me both personally and of course for our campaign to have the support of my home state," he said.

He said fighting terrorism and dealing with the economy would be the top two priorities for an incoming administration, and he said he had learned from the events of Sept. 11 and other attacks.

"The lessons of the 20th century, to me, are that you never ever back down in the face of bullies, dictators, tyrants and terrorists," he said.

He also told the supportive crowd that the Republican Party needed to compete even in traditional liberal strongholds such as New York.

"My view of this race for president is that the Republican Party should not go into this election, as we have in the past, having to write off New York, Connecticut, New Jersey," he said. "We've got to make this a 50-state election."

Giuliani was scheduled to be in Albany on Tuesday to be endorsed by state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, state Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco and other Republican state lawmakers.

National polls have shown Giuliani in front-runner position, as is New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democrats. Clinton was endorsed by the state's Democrats last week.

Young: Mitt's chances improve with 'immigration'

Young: Mitt's chances improve with 'immigration'

By Peter B. Young/Local columnist
GHS

Far be it from me to downplay or downgrade in any way Mitt Romney's chances in next year's quadrennial Presidential Derby. That said, most Massachusetts Democrats will tell you that regardless of their own personal views on the man, our former Republican governor is always a formidable candidate. And he is never more formidable than when he finds a critical issue that he is uniquely equipped to exploit.

He may have found that issue in the current free-for-all over so-called "comprehensive immigration reform."

But before we get to that, tick off these obvious Romney assets: He is (1) rich, (2) free of scandal, (3) articulate, (4) disciplined, (5) leader of a splendid family, (6) movie star handsome, and the list goes on.

What's not to like?

Well, perhaps we can leave that question for another column on another day.
But today's column will deal with candidate Romney's continuing, dogged fight to win the hearts and minds of Republican conservatives across the country, especially in such early primary states as Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

He is just now beginning to show some modest signs of success in this quixotic endeavor, and he may even be positioned for more success on the gut issue of our time, immigration reform.
While pursuing these influential conservatives, who dominate most Republican primary elections, Romney has not hesitated to go with the flow and adjust his previous positions notably on such social issues as abortion. All politicians, Democrats as well as Republican, do this sort of thing all the time. But it can be argued that Romney takes this standard political practice into a new dimension as he continues his transition from blue state Massachusetts into the red states of conservative-dominated Republican primaries.

In most national polls of Republican voters, our former governor is still mired in single digits - significantly behind such political mischief-makers as Rudy Giuliani of New York, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona, and also the undeclared, but prospectively potent candidacies of Newt Gingrich and former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson.

Yet, when the pollsters narrow their samples to a single state like Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina, Mitt Romney does much better, and is still very much within striking distance of leaders like Giuliani and the increasingly irascible McCain, both of whom have serious problems with the GOP base of conservatives.

Indeed, Giuliani and McCain may have problems even more serious than Romney's with that GOP base. In fact, the latest state-wide poll out of Iowa shows Romney now running comfortably ahead of the aforementioned Giuliani and McCain.

But until now, what Romney has been missing is a critical issue or message that he can stake out and claim for his own. Rudy Giuliani can recall his role as America's mayor in the immediate wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. John McCain can continue as perhaps the one and only cheerleader for the misbegotten war(s) in Iraq and Afghanistan. That has left Mr. Romney bringing up the rear with lame jokes about the agonies of dealing with liberal Democrats in the Massachusetts legislature.

However, with details finally emerging on the widely criticized "deal" for immigration reform, Romney is at last positioned to further improve his standing in those critical polls. That is because the horrendous, bipartisan mess we have made with immigration reform and regulation during the last 20 years has left this beleaguered country caught between a rock and a hard place. Our schools, hospitals, prisons and other such facilities are all staggering under a continuing tidal wave of illegal immigrants.

This is a situation that just may cry out for the kind of crisp, diligent, systematic, corporate-style leadership that has always been part of Romney's tool kit.

Democrats, here and elsewhere, had better believe that Mitt Romney now sees his opening and, in the words of the late Coach Vince Lombardi, will attempt an historic "run to daylight."
Peter Young's column appears every other Tuesday.

Sharpton tours Mormon Utah headquarters after Romney comment

Sharpton tours Mormon Utah headquarters after Romney comment

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Rev. Al Sharpton toured Mormon facilities Monday and dined privately with a church elder after drawing criticism two weeks ago for remarks about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
"He's simply here to learn more about us," church spokesman Mike Otterson said of Sharpton's visit. "We want him to know what the church does, what its work is."
Sharpton made the trip after generating criticism during a debate with an atheist author when he said: "As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyways, so don't worry about that; that's a temporary situation."
Sharpton, a Pentecostal minister who urged the firing of Don Imus after the radio host's racially insensitive remarks, said his words were taken out of context. But he immediately called elders of the 12.5 million-member church to apologize.
Monday, on a live broadcast of his radio show from a church-owned broadcast center in Salt Lake City, Sharpton said he respects Mormons as Christians and believers. He called any perceived friction between himself and the church a "fabricated controversy."

"Whatever differences I have with their denomination or religion had nothing to do with my respect of their faith," Sharpton said.
He has not apologized to Romney but called for a "dialogue of reconciliation." Romney has said Sharpton's comment could be construed as bigoted. Officially, the church will not comment on Romney's campaign and maintains a position of political neutrality.
On the air, Sharpton said he and Elder M. Russell Ballard, of the church's governing board of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, met over dinner Sunday night and "talked very little, if at all" about the comments. Instead, Sharpton said, they discussed shared concerns and places where their faiths can work together.

"This is not politics," Sharpton said. "This is about what you fundamentally, firmly believe. I did not want to leave it as 'we got past an issue."'

The dinner was followed by a tour Monday morning of church facilities, including a humanitarian aid center from which the church distributes clothes, food and medical supplies around the world.

Salt Lake City is the world headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with a temple and other properties covering several downtown blocks.

The Immigration Bill: Comprehensive or Incomprehensible?By Fred Thompson

The Immigration Bill: Comprehensive or Incomprehensible?

By Fred ThompsonSaturday, May 19, 2007
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Most Americans know that we have an illegal immigration problem in this country, with perhaps as many as 20 million people residing here unlawfully. And I think most Americans have a pretty good idea about how to at least start solving the problem – secure our nation’s borders.
But there’s an old saying in Washington that, in dealing with any tough issue, half the politicians hope that citizens don’t understand it while the other half fear that people actually do. This kind of thinking was apparent with the “comprehensive” immigration reform bill that the U.S. Senate and the White House negotiated yesterday.
Senator Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., seated, and others, takes part in a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 17, 2007, to discuss immigration reform legislation. Standing, from left are, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
Related Audio:
Bush Praises Senate Immigration Deal
Tony Snow
Is the immigration compromise in the Senate disastrous for the GOP?
I’d tell you what was in the legislation, but 24 hours after the politicians agreed the bill looked good, the Senate lawyers were still writing what may turn out to be a one thousand page document. In fact, a final version of the bill most likely will not be made available to the public until after the legislation is passed. That may come five days from now. That’s like trying to digest an eight-course meal on a fifteen-minute lunch break.
We’ve tried the “comprehensive” route before to solve the illegal immigration problem with a bit more care and deliberation, and the results haven’t been good. Back in May 1985, Congress promised us that it would come up with a comprehensive plan to solve the problem of illegal immigration and our porous borders. Eighteen months later, in November 1986, that comprehensive plan was signed into law.
Twenty-two years and millions of illegal immigrants later, that comprehensive plan hasn’t done what most Americans wanted it to do -- secure America’s borders. Now Washington says the new “comprehensive” plan will solve the problem that the last comprehensive plan didn’t.
The fact is our border and immigration systems are still badly broken. We were reminded of this when Newsweek reported that the family of three of the men, arrested last week for allegedly plotting to kill American military personnel at Fort Dix, New Jersey, entered the U.S. illegally more than 20 years ago; filed for asylum back in 1989, but fell off the government’s radar screen when federal bureaucrats essentially lost track of the paperwork. Wonder how many times that’s been replicated?
Is it any wonder that a lot of folks today feel like they’re being sold a phony bill of goods on border security? A “comprehensive” plan doesn’t mean much if the government can’t accomplish one of its most basic responsibilities for its citizens -- securing its borders. A nation without secure borders will not long be a sovereign nation.
No matter how much lipstick Washington tries to slap onto this legislative pig, it’s not going to win any beauty contests. In fact, given Congress’s track record, the bill will probably get a lot uglier -- at least from the public’s point of view. And agreeing to policies before actually seeing what the policies are is a heck of a way to do business.
We should scrap this “comprehensive” immigration bill and the whole debate until the government can show the American people that we have secured the borders -- or at least made great headway. That would give proponents of the bill a chance to explain why putting illegals in a more favorable position than those who play by the rules is not really amnesty.
Fred Thompson is an actor and former Senator. His radio commentary airs on the ABC Radio Network and be blogs on The Fred Thompson Report.
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Thinking Long Term On Energy Supply

Thinking Long Term On Energy Supply
by Sen. John CornynMay 18, 2007
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Once again, as we approach the summer driving season, gasoline prices are spiking to record levels. This impacts our state in a significant way.
As I wrote last year, one of the many things that unites Texans is this: we drive. We need our cars and trucks to get to work, to school and to stores. In Texas, gasoline is not a luxury, but a necessity.
Consumers rightly ask: what is their government doing about the situation? The answer: not nearly enough. Congress seems particularly bogged down in energy policy, preferring short-term political posturing to more far-sighted solutions.
Congress can do many things, but it cannot repeal the law of supply and demand. In the long term, conservation and alternative energy sources hold great promise. But our growing economy requires more energy now, and that means clearing away barriers to producing that supply.
We have made some limited progress. Last year, the President signed a law I co-sponsored that opens 8.3 million acres of offshore oil and gas development. This will eventually bring an estimated 1.26 billion barrels of oil and 5.8 trillion cubic feet of gas into our energy supplies. That will also reduce modestly our dependence on foreign energy sources.
The price of a barrel of oil this spring is about $10 less than it was a year ago. The problem this year is diminished refinery capacity for making gasoline.
Because of high costs, regulatory red tape and public opposition, refiners haven’t built a new facility anywhere in the U.S. since 1976—more than 30 years ago. We are now down from a high of 324 U.S. refineries to only 132.
The refinery system in America is under such strain that any outages or disruptions are quickly felt in the market, in the form of increased prices.
As refineries get older, they require more downtime for repairs. News reports indicate that two Texas facilities—a 170,000 barrel-per-day plant in McKee and a 470,000 barrel-per-day operation in Texas City—have been shut or slowed by maintenance problems this year.
Some of the reaction in Congress has not been productive. Last year, a modest attempt to rein in excessive regulatory burdens on the refinery industry—to allow expansion and more gasoline production—was shot down by Senate opponents.
This year, faced with consequences of their action, the same opponents are trying to blame the energy industry. They alternately blame refiners for failing to maintain their facilities, and suggest any shutdowns for repairs are an attempt at manipulating gasoline supply. Instead of doing something about the problem, they are playing the blame game.
Several federal investigations, including an exhaustive inquiry last year by the Federal Trade Commission, found no evidence that energy companies have manipulated prices. In fact, investment by major companies in finding new energy sources has never been higher.
I hope Congress can somehow reverse field this year and come together on a bipartisan attempt to find real solutions to our energy problems. That will include increased attention to alternative sources, including nuclear power, clean coal technology, biofuels, solar power and wind power.
All of these technologies would benefit our environment and our economy. They hold promise, but some won’t pay off for many years.
In the meantime, any realistic plan must involve increasing supply of major current sources of energy.
As gas prices move to the $3 per gallon level and above, a renewed push for a national consensus on energy policy is badly needed. What we’ve seen recently is political point-scoring. Our national interest requires longer-term thinking.
***
Sen. Cornyn serves on the Armed Services, Judiciary and Budget Committees. In addition, he is Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Border Security and Refugees subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee’s Airland subcommittee. Cornyn served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice and Bexar County District Judge.

Mitt Romney Blasts Immigration Deal

Friday, May 18, 2007 7:49 a.m. EDT
Mitt Romney Blasts Immigration Deal

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Thursday blasted the Senate immigration bill agreement as "the wrong approach" for solving the problems of illegal immigration.
Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, said the bill falls short of the goals necessary to secure U.S. borders and ensure that corporations do not provide a safe haven for illegals, regardless of the attraction of cheap labor.

"Any legislation that allows illegal immigrants to stay in the country indefinitely, as the new 'Z-Visa' does, is a form of amnesty," Romney said in a statement on his campaign Web site. "That is unfair to the millions of people who have applied to legally immigrate to the U.S."
Romney hinted that a form of national I.D. may be necessary to get a handle on the overflow of illegal immigrants into the United States and the hiring of illegals by corporations within the country.

"[The] Senate agreement falls short of the actions needed to both solve our country's illegal immigration problem and also strengthen our legal immigration system," Romney said. "Border security and a reliable employment verification system must be our first priority . . .
"I strongly oppose today's bill . . . It is the wrong approach."

© NewsMax 2007. All rights reserved.

National Journal: McCain Is Crowding Giuliani

National Journal: McCain Is Crowding Giuliani

Charlie Cook

Given how early the 2008 presidential race started, it's no surprise that we're already swimming in national polls. But too often the surveys that attract the most attention are the outliers, those that differ from what most of the others are finding.

For analysts and the news media, the dilemma that outliers pose is that a poll with very different results from previous surveys could either be the first sign of a new trend, or -- more often than not -- be flat-out wrong. That's why watching the averages of polls is better than seizing on the results of one particular survey. News organizations could help the situation by doubling up on their polls more frequently -- producing a sample twice the usual size, which shrinks the margin of error and yields subgroup results that have some degree of reliability.

Two Cook Political Report/RT Strategies polls have been conducted in the past three weeks, the first taken on April 27-29 using 885 registered voters, and the second done on May 11-13 involving 855 registered voters. That yields a combined sample size of 1,740. The results for the combo's 786 Democrats or Democratic leaners have a margin of error of +/-3.5 percent, while the totals for its 662 Republicans or Republican leaners have a margin of error of +/-3.8 percent.

Looking at the entire field of Republican presidential candidates, including former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee, who now appears very likely to run, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, who is toying with entering the race (though I have my doubts), the contest for the GOP's top spot is very, very close -- and clearly within the margin of error In the combined Cook/RT Strategies surveys, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani leads with 26 percent (28 percent in the April poll and 25 percent in the May survey) to Sen. John McCain's 24 percent (21 percent in April; 24 percent in May).There's a big gap between the front-runners and the next two candidates, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Thompson, each with 9 percent (Romney hit 12 percent in April and 9 percent in May; Thompson had 10 percent and 8 percent, respectively). Gingrich grabbed fifth place with 6 percent (6 percent in April; 7 percent in May). When Gingrich is taken out of the mix, Giuliani gains 2 percentage points, and McCain and Romney each pick up 1 point.

While McCain and Thompson do better among men than women, the reverse is true of Giuliani. The former mayor also does very well among 18-to-34-year-olds. Thompson's support, not surprisingly, skews Southern. Interestingly, given McCain's fervent support for the Iraq war and the troop surge, the senator from Arizona performs much better among moderates than among conservatives -- further evidence that his party's Right doesn't trust him. Giuliani does particularly well among voters who only weakly identify with the Republican Party and among independents who lean Republican.

On the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton remains well ahead of the rest, scoring 36 percent in the combined survey (36 percent in April; 40 percent in May). Sen. Barack Obama still has a firm grip on second place, with 25 percent (26 percent in April; 25 percent in May). Former Sen. John Edwards comes in third, with 15 percent (18 percent; 13 percent). New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is fourth, with 4 percent (4 percent; 2 percent)All those Democratic numbers are based on a fairly safe assumption -- that former Vice President Gore stays out of the contest. If Gore is included, he gets 10 percent, Clinton dips to 32 percent, Obama to 24 percent, and Edwards to 13 percent.

Clinton exceeds her overall numbers among Hispanics, women, voters without college degrees, residents of the Northeast and West, Democrats (as opposed to independents who lean Democratic), and "strong" Democrats. Obama does especially well among African-Americans, 18-to-34-year-olds, college graduates, Midwesterners, Southerners, and independents who lean Democratic.

What are the most-important conclusions to take from the surveys? First, the Giuliani-McCain contest is tightening, at least a bit. Second, Obama has caught up to, and perhaps passed, Clinton among African-American voters but not in the overall race, and that his popularity is driven by the youngest voters.

Don't count out McCain just yet

Don't count out McCain just yet (http://www.suntimes.com/news/bevan/391712,CST-EDT-BEVAN18.article)
May 18, 2007
TOM BEVAN tom@realclearpolitics.com
He's too disliked by conservatives. He's trailing in the national polls. He's not raising enough money. For months the media's storylines on John McCain have all focused on the reasons why he won't win the Republican nomination for president, but perhaps they should start focusing on the reasons he could. Here are just two:
• • McCain is maintaining slim leads in the RealClearPolitics poll averages in all three crucial early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Even more important than his lead in the polls, however, is that McCain has been steadily plugging away building out organizations in these states while Rudy Giuliani has made far fewer visits and is still openly debating whether he will parti- cipate in the first critical test of the Republican race, which will come at the Ames, Iowa, straw poll in August.
• • A little-noticed indication of McCain's strength appeared last week when he edged ahead of Giuliani in the political futures markets. Much like the stock market where real money is being invested by real people, these markets often represent a more reliable and more accurate picture of where the race really stands than can be gotten from individual polls. As of this writing McCain and Giuliani were exactly tied in the political futures markets.
Taken together, these points indicate McCain's true strength as a candidate is probably being understated by the media and the national polls.
That's certainly how the McCain campaign feels about their position. "Despite what the pundits have said, we've always had a very good understanding of what we needed to do to win this race," McCain campaign manager Terry Nelson told me on Wednesday. "Overall, we feel we've built the best team and we feel very good about where we are."
The race is in the very early stages and it will almost certainly get a good shaking up when actor and former Sen. Fred Thompson enters the race, as most observers expect he will in the not-too-distant future. Thompson is getting between 10 percent to 15 percent in the national polls as a non-candidate and would most likely improve his share of support upon formally entering the contest, putting him right up near the top of the field.
It's too soon to speculate on exactly how Thompson's candidacy might change the dynamics of the race, but it is worth pointing out another favorable indicator for McCain is that his support in the national polls has been remarkably steady over time, even when those polls have included Thompson as an alternative.
Two months ago when pollsters were not asking about Thompson, McCain was at 21 percent in the RealClearPolitics average for the Republican nomination. Today, with every major survey including Thompson, McCain is at 22 percent. Just as important, over that same period front-runner Giuliani has seen his support decline by more than 10 percentage points, from 38 to 27.8 percent.
The bottom line is that those who were quick to write off McCain would be well advised to take another look and to remember the credo that "slow and steady wins the race.'' McCain still has his flaws, and he still has a long way to go to win the nomination, but eight months away from the first primary he's in a much better position than many people think.
Tom Bevan is executive editor of RealClearPolitics.com.

Dirty Campaigns Already, Group sends questionable letter to Mitt Romney

Group sends questionable letter to Mitt Romney
Benjamin Ray, Staff Writer517.437.6014
The letter written to Mitt Romney’s headquarters by Hillsdale College students last week addressing the Republican candidate’s stance on abortion seemed authentic.
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Except it wasn’t written by Hillsdale College students, as the letter claims.
A group called “Vote For Life 2008” wrote the letter and sent it to Hillsdale students asking for their signatures, and then sent the letter on to Romney as if it was written by the nearly 30 students whose names appear on it.
“Vote For Life” is an activist part of the grassroots group “Students for Sam Brownback,” which comprises high school and college students who support the Republican candidate and Kansas senator also in this early running for president.
Hillsdale “Students for Life” president Lynette Wilhelm was not upset to hear the letter was bogus, because she agreed with what was written, which is why she signed it.
“My group was in no way responsible for the letter written to the Romney campaign,” she said. “As of right now, we support no particular presidential candidate.”
The letter came to light May 11, the day before Romney spoke at the college’s graduation. Questions in the letter focused on Romney’s changed stance on abortion — he now is pro–life — and his signing of the Commonwealth Care health care plan as governor of Massachusetts that covered abortions.
Hillsdale “Students for Life” treasurer and sophomore Karen Williams said she condones being listed as an author, although she was not, because she agreed with the letter.
“I would hope Mitt Romney would not support taxpayer–funded abortions,” she said.
E–mails written to leadership at the “Students for Brownback” group were not returned.
Romney has since said he is opposed to the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion and on Saturday spoke from a conservative viewpoint on a number of national and international issues.

C Rick Koerber Bio

C Rick KoerberFounder and CEO of FranklinSquires Investments, Claud “Rick” Koerber is a highly sought after motivational speaker and business consultant. He has worked with, represented, and held key positions in companies such as FranklinCovey, Toshiba America Business Solutions, Carleton Sheets Personal Coaching, and IKON Office Solutions. His broad background also includes seminary teacher for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, high school instructor, parliamentary/policy debate coach at Casper College in Wyoming, and founder of six businesses.Although only in his thirties, Rick has in his own words “had a lifetime of experience in both headaches and wonderful triumphs.” Rick’s establishment of the Equity Milling process—a successful, creative real estate technique—has resulted in his acquisition over $100 million in real estate. Rick currently resides with his wife and two children in Springville, Utah.Read More Contract All Expand All-->Rick Koerber has always been an entrepreneur. As a boy, he constantly came up with ideas about the next great business plan. His first notable venture in the world of entrepreneurialism occurred as President of GlobalCentral.com, a successful Internet company he established with a few partners in the mid 1990’s. In 2000, the dotcom bubble burst and so did GlobalCentral.com. Overnight, Rick and his wife, Michelle, were $800,000 in debt.Financially, Rick didn’t know what to do. From a deep hole of debt, he questioned the possibility of ever getting out. He even considered giving up and leaving the business world forever. After much thought, he and Michelle decided to proceed forward on two resolutions: first, the need to identify others who were once in their situation and had discovered a way out of debt; and second, to be committed to fundamental economic principles.Today, six years later, Rick and Michelle’s lives are much different. Their financial position has changed drastically because of finding and living basic economic principles that do not change with time or market conditions. Rick rediscovered these principles by studying America’s Founding Fathers.Many people have asked Rick how he got out of debt. Finding it very rewarding to teach the principles he rediscovered to others, Rick and Michelle formed FranklinSquires Investments.The purpose of FranklinSquires is to work with individuals, families, and small businesses to obtain three core values: self-reliance, economic independence, and financial freedom. The name Franklin is the surname from one side of Rick’s family and Squires comes from a side of Michelle’s family. The name FranklinSquires carries significance because Rick and Michelle literally want to build a legacy that utilizes timeless principles and values to help others.Rick has learned throughout his experiences that there is no substitute for true self-reliance. One cannot be truly self-reliant if he or she depends on others or circumstances for subsistence. FranklinSquires helps people acquire economic independence by teaching them how to generate more passive or portfolio income than living expenses. The ultimate goal is for people to be financially free and use their own monetary resources to do good for their own family and those around them.Rick has stated, “I’ve learned throughout all my journeys that every one of us has to make a decision at some point whether we’re going to be responsible for where we are in life, especially financially.”Despite Rick’s early economic adversity with GlobalCentral.com, his personal beliefs and individual character motivated him to pay back over $800,000 debt—regardless of having no legal obligation to do so.Rick and his family enjoy the financial freedom that results from following the principles of prosperity economics taught by the Founding Fathers.
Posted by Jim Cramer at 4:26 PM

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C. Rick Koerber Principles

C. Rick Koerber Principles
The key to prosperity lies in learning and applying correct principles. Rick is dedicated to sharing these principles with all who desire true freedom. True financial freedom is the ability to use one’s financial resources as one chooses to improve the world in which he or she lives.Rick rediscovered prosperity economics by studying the philosophies of America’s Founding Fathers and the ideas of many successful businessmen and women. Through personal experience, Rick has lived and continues to live according to prosperity economics.The Five Steps of Prosperity EconomicsChoiceParadigmsCore ValuesPillars of WealthKey Principles
Posted by Jim Cramer at 4:29 PM

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C Rick Koerber Companies

FreeCapitalist Project
The FreeCapitalist project, a member based organization, commits to teaching principles of freedom and prosperity to individuals seeking to improve their lives and communities in which they live. Through radio, print, electronic media, and organized forums throughout the country, it provides necessary information and resources for people to educate themselves and think in terms of abundance and liberty. The mission of the Project is to champion the cause of freedom by empowering its members to achieve personal and economic success.

The FranklinSquires University is a private educational organization that assists individuals in their quest to obtain self-reliance, economic independence, and financial freedom. Consisting of a team of remarkable and experienced instructors, the university educates students to apply principles of prosperity economics to all aspects of life. The university is committed to providing transformative educational experiences that allow students to become producers of value and wise stewards over their lives and resources.

New Castle Holdings, LLC
New Castle is an innovative leader in wholesale real estate investment services. New Castle maintains, auctions, and finances properties to end consumers allowing homeowners and businesses to acquire properties at flexible terms.

Hill Erickson, LLC
The company’s principal activity is acquisition of residential and commercial retail properties. By marketing investment properties, it provides wealth building opportunities for investors.

VIP Media
VIP Media consists of an extraordinary team of specialized experts dedicated to providing a wide range of professional and creative audio and production services for both business and broadcast. From creative script writing and video shooting to state-of-the art video editing, VIP Media serves its customers with unparallel quality and the utilization of the newest technological advances.

Iceberg Drive-Inn
With 11 Iceberg Drive Inn locations in three states, the rapidly expanding foodservice franchise is famous for its deliciously think, made-to-order shakes standing two inches above an oversized cup. Founded in the summer of 1960 in Salt Lake City, Utah, the original Iceberg Drive Inn quickly turned into the city’s most popular ice cream destination. Today Iceberg Drive Inn, Inc. provides unique, flavorsome products to thousands of Americans and continues to make each of its shakes the old fashioned way: personally by hand.

Innovator Mortgage
Innovator Mortgage specializes in providing creative financing solutions to challenging situations. With a professional and seasoned staff of equity management advisors, Innovator Mortgage offers advanced mortgage planning and innovative equity management strategies. Innovator Mortgage works with CPA’s and financial advisors to insure their client’s equity strategy is coordinated successfully.

Lucent Real Estate
With a commitment to excellence service, Lucent Real Estate Services, LLC delivers acquisition services to its clients. By providing quality opportunities to invest, sell, buy, or lease residential properties, Lucent Real Estate assists finding solutions to all real estate needs.

June 16th Judgesrun, Go Peter

Here are the details for the Judges run 5K Fun Run Walk
Saturday, June 16th, 2007

Thank you for choosing to take part in the 2007 Judgesrun 5k Fun Run/Walk, Salt Lake City's premiere 5K road race. The Judgesrun 5K is a community tradition in its tenth year, and we're excited that the race will be bigger and better this year than ever before!

We'll begin the race at 8:00 a.m. on June 16th at Highland High School, located at 2100 South 1700 East, and finish at Wasatch Presbyterian Church, located at 1626 South 1700 East. At the conclusion of the race, we'll enjoy a pancake breakfast and an awards ceremony. Expect music, prize drawings, and much, much more! New this year is the distinction of the 5K as a USATF (U.S.A. Track and Field) Race Circuit member and a USATF-sanctioned race.

The purpose of the race (and all the Judgesrun Foundation's events) is to raise money for cancer research, and 100% of the proceeds and race pledges benefit breast cancer research. If you have questions or are interested in becoming a sponsor of the event, please contact Carrie Towner at 801-364-8300 or by emailing ctowner@stribalaw.com