Punditville is abuzz with the meaning of the 2009 election results, and there's a lot of activity about which to opine.Speaker Pelosi downplays the Virginia results, while Robert Gibbs dismisses the VA and NJ results as "local elections."
So here's a sampling of the opinion out there:
Michael Graham from National Review Online declares the election an illustration of why moderates can't be tossed aside.
UK Times Online claims the results of the governors' races were a referendum on the president and the economy.
Tammy Bruce remarks on the apparent lack of attention paid to the results by the White House, and also gives a nod to Michael P. Leahy's analysis of NY23, which he deems as chiefly campaign error.
My feeble thoughts (not that you asked, but I'm a giver that way):
Moderates are vitally important for a margin of victory, especially since not everyone is 'awake' yet; but if you haven't built up excitement, loyalty and trust in the base yet, nothing can save you.
The economy DOES matter. Conservatives who focus SOLELY on social issues will be arguing about gay marriage from their new home under the overpass one day. Everything else is riding on the situation, so show up in that arena first, and often.
Also, even if it were true that Obama inherited all the financial messes we've found ourselves in, boldly proclaiming that failed policies failed precisely because they weren't bold enough is, well, stupid. New Jersey and Virginia voters must not think we're headed in the right direction. But hey! The Obama documentary was on! So was V!
Lastly, grassroots candidates have got to pay attention to details. Experienced politicians will campaign against the grassroots candidates by decrying their inexperience. Before taking that step into the electoral arena, know your district, know your issues, and know your supporters. And listen to them, too. The tea party movement may have created a lot of new pesky armchair quarterbacks, but sometimes, they're right.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Restrained
There are some disturbed people out there.
Recently I attended a meeting where one participant, because he couldn't convince the others to break some promises to third parties, lost his temper and began yelling in the meeting. OK, I can forgive you losing your temper. That's not a big deal at all. I do it all the time, and I hope to be forgiven when I do.
Still, the guy made several of us uncomfortable, and we were even less willing to work with him after that outburst.
NOW, this guy is tossing around threats of lawsuits for slander, and talking about carrying guns around with him wherever he goes. I do not know HOW this escalated to that, but he's devolved into a mass of paranoia and threatening phrases. One person who was there is filing for a restraining order, and encouraging the rest of us to do so as well.
Weird.
But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The Freedom Movement attracts many different types, and perhaps this is one of the fringe-y guys who held it together long enough to pass unnoticed before. At least now we know what he is, and can move around him.
One thing's clear; know with whom you're getting into bed. The extraction process is often too painful to accomplish easily.
Recently I attended a meeting where one participant, because he couldn't convince the others to break some promises to third parties, lost his temper and began yelling in the meeting. OK, I can forgive you losing your temper. That's not a big deal at all. I do it all the time, and I hope to be forgiven when I do.
Still, the guy made several of us uncomfortable, and we were even less willing to work with him after that outburst.
NOW, this guy is tossing around threats of lawsuits for slander, and talking about carrying guns around with him wherever he goes. I do not know HOW this escalated to that, but he's devolved into a mass of paranoia and threatening phrases. One person who was there is filing for a restraining order, and encouraging the rest of us to do so as well.
Weird.
But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The Freedom Movement attracts many different types, and perhaps this is one of the fringe-y guys who held it together long enough to pass unnoticed before. At least now we know what he is, and can move around him.
One thing's clear; know with whom you're getting into bed. The extraction process is often too painful to accomplish easily.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Surreality and Puppetry
This has been the craziest week. Something like "Guess who had the BEST WEEK EVER?" combined with "WTH?" and a little "OMG" thrown in.
Last Thursday I flew to Washington D.C. to attend Americans for Prosperity's 'Defending the American Dream' conference. AFP footed the bill for the flight and hotel, or I'd never have been able to attend. It was two days of breakouts and networking and information and other awesomeness. The best part had to be meeting many Twitter friends and making new ones; there's kind of an unofficial Twitter Activist Fraternity, and I am glad they let me in, especially since my blogging is half-assed these days, what with one thing and another.
The week ended with an overnight to San Antonio to meet up with the organizers from Dallas, San Antonio and Austin for the Tea Party movement. We had a great session, and started some things in motion that will pay off hugely down the road. These are some amazing people, and as they continue working together, be prepared to see some powerful influence coming out of Texas.
But the highlight, the pinnacle, the apex of my week had to be a whirlwind trip to LA. Steven Crowder, PJTV/You Tube video comedy/political studdmuffin, asked me to fly out to do puppetry on a video of his. The speed with which it all happened made my head swim, but you can see the results for yourself. The video is not completely fitting on the blog, and I'm not sure how to make it fit, but you can see it at this link in full:
Last Thursday I flew to Washington D.C. to attend Americans for Prosperity's 'Defending the American Dream' conference. AFP footed the bill for the flight and hotel, or I'd never have been able to attend. It was two days of breakouts and networking and information and other awesomeness. The best part had to be meeting many Twitter friends and making new ones; there's kind of an unofficial Twitter Activist Fraternity, and I am glad they let me in, especially since my blogging is half-assed these days, what with one thing and another.
The week ended with an overnight to San Antonio to meet up with the organizers from Dallas, San Antonio and Austin for the Tea Party movement. We had a great session, and started some things in motion that will pay off hugely down the road. These are some amazing people, and as they continue working together, be prepared to see some powerful influence coming out of Texas.
But the highlight, the pinnacle, the apex of my week had to be a whirlwind trip to LA. Steven Crowder, PJTV/You Tube video comedy/political studdmuffin, asked me to fly out to do puppetry on a video of his. The speed with which it all happened made my head swim, but you can see the results for yourself. The video is not completely fitting on the blog, and I'm not sure how to make it fit, but you can see it at this link in full:
Steven Crowder: School's for Fools!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Get it RIGHT
Oh, silly, silly media. You think that if you don't show it, it didn't happen. So sad for you that we all learned to bring our cameras...
Fox 7 Austin Coverage
Our Correction
Fox 7 Austin Coverage
Our Correction
Monday, August 31, 2009
There's a lot of press chasing the latest doings of the administration, and the vocal opposition to its agenda. You can't turn on the news without seeing a story about the health care debate, or the economy, or Cap and Trade. The debate is a good thing, and people who never cared about such issues before have suddenly found themselves chest-deep in the intricacies of legislation, discussing the Constitution. That renewed interest can never be bad for our republic.
What concerns me is the image portrayed by our opposition.
First, let's think about the goal here. Is the highest goal to keep a given piece of legislation from being passed? If so, then how do we make that happen? The obvious answer is to amass enough public opposition to render it politically impossible for Congress to pass it. This is why the town hall meetings have been so compelling; people are attending these events in unprecedented numbers to make their opinion known, especially on the health care legislation.
Is it having an effect? A little bit. It might result in a watered-down version of what's currently on offer being passed. But make no mistake, unless there's a radical change in the typical congressvarmint's point of view, this bill, in some form, WILL PASS.
So how do you change the view of Congress? My opinion is that you do it by reaching some of their base who do not currently agree with you. That takes many forms, but a good example is Tracy Miller's attempt to explain the health care legislation at an aborted Sheila Jackson Lee town hall. Sheila moved her town hall, and Tracy ended up at the original location. There she met several people who were supporters of the congresswoman, but who didn't know much about what was in the bill. She spent time that evening talking to those people and giving them facts and excerpts from the bill, and found common ground with them. She gave them something that was in short supply from Sheila Jackson Lee - information. That's a valuable outreach effort.
Would Tracy have had that opportunity to reach these SJL supporters had she charged in with her Obama Joker poster held high? I really don't think so. Would they have been receptive to anything she had to say? Probably not. Tracy knows this, and acted accordingly.
We should all take a page from her book, and learn something about image.
When Houston Tea Party Society hosted tea parties, we did our best to encourage people to focus on Congress as their targets. Putting the focus on the newly-elected, highly popular, still-honeymooning president would only serve to make those supporters dig in their heels and root their support even deeper. Congress was (and is) a much smarter target choice, and as Tracy found in an early SJL town hall, rich with material - as when SJL pretended to listen to Tracy's question and talked on her cell phone at the same time. That video landed the congresswoman, and Tracy, on the Fox News Channel.
The point here is that without the distraction of an altered Obama photo, without the distraction of a Sheila Jackson Lee voodoo doll, the story became Sheila Jackson Lee's behavior. Add those distracting elements into the picture, and the media would be reporting on the poster, on the doll. Is that the story we want to tell? Is that the goal; to get a chuckle out of people who agree with us? Or is the larger goal to prevail, to sway more people on the fence to agree with us, to amass the numbers we need to force Congress to abandon their socialist plans?
You can go for the cheap laugh, or you can go for the win. It's up to you. But if you go for the laugh, don't be surprised if we aren't all laughing along. Some of us would like to keep the focus on the issues.
What concerns me is the image portrayed by our opposition.
First, let's think about the goal here. Is the highest goal to keep a given piece of legislation from being passed? If so, then how do we make that happen? The obvious answer is to amass enough public opposition to render it politically impossible for Congress to pass it. This is why the town hall meetings have been so compelling; people are attending these events in unprecedented numbers to make their opinion known, especially on the health care legislation.
Is it having an effect? A little bit. It might result in a watered-down version of what's currently on offer being passed. But make no mistake, unless there's a radical change in the typical congressvarmint's point of view, this bill, in some form, WILL PASS.
So how do you change the view of Congress? My opinion is that you do it by reaching some of their base who do not currently agree with you. That takes many forms, but a good example is Tracy Miller's attempt to explain the health care legislation at an aborted Sheila Jackson Lee town hall. Sheila moved her town hall, and Tracy ended up at the original location. There she met several people who were supporters of the congresswoman, but who didn't know much about what was in the bill. She spent time that evening talking to those people and giving them facts and excerpts from the bill, and found common ground with them. She gave them something that was in short supply from Sheila Jackson Lee - information. That's a valuable outreach effort.
Would Tracy have had that opportunity to reach these SJL supporters had she charged in with her Obama Joker poster held high? I really don't think so. Would they have been receptive to anything she had to say? Probably not. Tracy knows this, and acted accordingly.
We should all take a page from her book, and learn something about image.
When Houston Tea Party Society hosted tea parties, we did our best to encourage people to focus on Congress as their targets. Putting the focus on the newly-elected, highly popular, still-honeymooning president would only serve to make those supporters dig in their heels and root their support even deeper. Congress was (and is) a much smarter target choice, and as Tracy found in an early SJL town hall, rich with material - as when SJL pretended to listen to Tracy's question and talked on her cell phone at the same time. That video landed the congresswoman, and Tracy, on the Fox News Channel.
The point here is that without the distraction of an altered Obama photo, without the distraction of a Sheila Jackson Lee voodoo doll, the story became Sheila Jackson Lee's behavior. Add those distracting elements into the picture, and the media would be reporting on the poster, on the doll. Is that the story we want to tell? Is that the goal; to get a chuckle out of people who agree with us? Or is the larger goal to prevail, to sway more people on the fence to agree with us, to amass the numbers we need to force Congress to abandon their socialist plans?
You can go for the cheap laugh, or you can go for the win. It's up to you. But if you go for the laugh, don't be surprised if we aren't all laughing along. Some of us would like to keep the focus on the issues.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Sacrifice (8/22 Radio Commentary)
Two weeks ago I saw the movie “300” for the first time with Natalie and friends at her birthday celebration. I’d heard the stories of Thermopylae and the Spartans’ stand against the Persian hordes, and writers have used it for centuries as a heroic example of fighting for freedom. But there’s one theme that keeps coming back to me; sacrifice.
In the movie, King Leonidas knows Sparta is threatened by the Persians, and yet the politicians will not act to defend it. And he knows that if he waits until the Persians get to Sparta, they will all be enslaved. So in defiance of the oracle and the politicians, he takes his 300 men and goes to meet the Persians in the most defensible place he can find. For days they fight bravely and hold off the Persians, until they are betrayed when someone shows the Persians another path to outflank the Spartans. Leonidas and all his 300 are finally overcome by the Persian army.
Their sacrifice was not in vain, though. The small but powerful resistance led to a greater number of Greeks standing against Persia, and their resistance eventually convinced the Persians to abandon the battle to conquer all of Greece.
So how does that relate to today?
If the socialist agenda is passed, you’ll pay higher prices for things. Your taxes will go up. You will give up some things you used to be able to afford with ease. You’ll have to choose between things like health care and home repair. Between the light bill and the grocery bill. Between buying gas for your car or tires to stay on the road safely.
And if you decide to fight the socialist onslaught, you’ll sacrifice much more as well. You’ll sacrifice your time, your energy, your peace of mind, your resources, your vacations, your family time, your talent, your free time, and in my case, even your sanity at times.
The question is, are you merely going to sacrifice because the other side won, or are you going to sacrifice to prevent it?
Make no mistake; you are going to sacrifice in some way because of the invasion of socialism. It’s up to you whether you do it involuntarily because they take it from you, or whether you choose to sacrifice for the fight.
Me, I like a good fight.
In the movie, King Leonidas knows Sparta is threatened by the Persians, and yet the politicians will not act to defend it. And he knows that if he waits until the Persians get to Sparta, they will all be enslaved. So in defiance of the oracle and the politicians, he takes his 300 men and goes to meet the Persians in the most defensible place he can find. For days they fight bravely and hold off the Persians, until they are betrayed when someone shows the Persians another path to outflank the Spartans. Leonidas and all his 300 are finally overcome by the Persian army.
Their sacrifice was not in vain, though. The small but powerful resistance led to a greater number of Greeks standing against Persia, and their resistance eventually convinced the Persians to abandon the battle to conquer all of Greece.
So how does that relate to today?
If the socialist agenda is passed, you’ll pay higher prices for things. Your taxes will go up. You will give up some things you used to be able to afford with ease. You’ll have to choose between things like health care and home repair. Between the light bill and the grocery bill. Between buying gas for your car or tires to stay on the road safely.
And if you decide to fight the socialist onslaught, you’ll sacrifice much more as well. You’ll sacrifice your time, your energy, your peace of mind, your resources, your vacations, your family time, your talent, your free time, and in my case, even your sanity at times.
The question is, are you merely going to sacrifice because the other side won, or are you going to sacrifice to prevent it?
Make no mistake; you are going to sacrifice in some way because of the invasion of socialism. It’s up to you whether you do it involuntarily because they take it from you, or whether you choose to sacrifice for the fight.
Me, I like a good fight.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Flag@WhiteHouse.gov
I am flagging myself because I do not believe the typical spin of the Left when it comes to the current health care legislation, and I understand economics well enough to recognize a plan that defies all economic principles.
I am flagging myself because, as Hillary Clinton said, “I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you’re not patriotic. We should stand up and say we are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration.”
I am flagging myself because I love and support the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and the country that results from them, and I believe that those documents, not the whims of men, should govern our nation.
I am flagging myself because I believe that government of the people, by the people, and for the people requires us to stand up in opposition whenever we believe it has gone off track.
I am flagging myself because I am not afraid to stand up and say what I believe to anyone, including anyone in power in the administration.
I am flagging myself because if Congress and the Administration will not listen to the voice of the people, we will make our voices louder, starting with me.
I am flagging myself because I don’t get my information solely from the media’s administration-fed talking points, nor do I get it solely from pundits who closet themselves with officials to decide on the best spin on the news of the day.
I am flagging myself because I am an independent thinker, and will not swallow everything without skepticism.
I am flagging myself because I am an American.
I am flagging myself because I believe in this country.
I am flagging myself so that other people will join me in standing up and speaking out.
I am flagging myself because I love this country.
I am flagging myself because I do not believe the typical spin of the Left when it comes to the current health care legislation, and I understand economics well enough to recognize a plan that defies all economic principles.
I am flagging myself because, as Hillary Clinton said, “I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you’re not patriotic. We should stand up and say we are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration.”
I am flagging myself because I love and support the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and the country that results from them, and I believe that those documents, not the whims of men, should govern our nation.
I am flagging myself because I believe that government of the people, by the people, and for the people requires us to stand up in opposition whenever we believe it has gone off track.
I am flagging myself because I am not afraid to stand up and say what I believe to anyone, including anyone in power in the administration.
I am flagging myself because if Congress and the Administration will not listen to the voice of the people, we will make our voices louder, starting with me.
I am flagging myself because I don’t get my information solely from the media’s administration-fed talking points, nor do I get it solely from pundits who closet themselves with officials to decide on the best spin on the news of the day.
I am flagging myself because I am an independent thinker, and will not swallow everything without skepticism.
I am flagging myself because I am an American.
I am flagging myself because I believe in this country.
I am flagging myself so that other people will join me in standing up and speaking out.
I am flagging myself because I love this country.
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